Endgame
by AEMI
Summary: Manga-based and set after Hades, one Saint is waking up to reality and beginning to ask himself questions. About time too. PG recommended because intellectually challenging: all the immorality and violence of the original severly condemmed!
1. Introduction and Prologue

ENDGAME by AEMI

Contents : 

Introduction

Prologue

Part One: Afterlife

Part Two : Family

Part Three : Ascencion

Part Four : Revolution

Epilogue

INTRODUCTION

The following story is based upon Kurumada's Saint Seiya MANGA only. Their are some major differences between the original and the TOEI animated version. To begin with, there is no Asgard-Episode, which is loosely based upon a short story 'Warriors of Blue Graad' (in the Saint-Seiya-Timeline I place it in the three months between the Medusa incident and the departure for Sanctuary). There are some other differences which will become apparent throughout the story, but the major one –and I must stress this, as it is the basis of my story- is that none of the Bronzes is keen to fight for Saori Kido, not even after they find out she is Athena. Seiya even tells her to become a member of a female Catch club, if she likes fighting that much!

Contrary to some fanfics, I place my story in our very own reality. There are clear references to history and the present day as we know it both in Manga and Anime, so I see no reason to come up with some involved post-nuclear holocaust world just to explain why Shun's hair is the colour of young spinach (sure, blame it all on radioactivity, the people of Tchernobyl would be so lucky if that was all they had to worry about) a Toei invention anyway. Besides, even if Japan were spared a nuclear holocaust, whom are they going to sell their Toyotas and Tamagotchis to if all of Western Europe and the USA has been bombed to the radioactive Stone-Age? 'It's the economy, stupid!' Japan would barely be able to support itsself, money would become valueless, the Graad foundation would simply cease to exist. Logic, economic reality and the rules of Cause and Effect won't have it any other way. Sorry.

A word of warning to the unweary. The people in the story (apart from the Kurumada characters of course!) are real, existing people, of the critical, European sceptic variety. They are therefore critical and sceptical and very politically incorrect on various subjects, notably on certain aspects of japanese society. There will be many references towards history, politics, art, poetry and literature so some knowledge of those subjects would be helpfull to the reader, though not required. Foreign languages (mainly french, german and dutch) will be spoken but translated whenever possible. Please don't let this put you off!

Finally, some fans, particulary those of Seiya (he's dead and stàys dead) Shiryu and Shaka, had better abstain. On the other hand, if Hyoga and Mu are your favourites, and if you would dearly love to see Athena get her come-uppance, read on!

PROLOGUE

The year is 1973, and the world is witness to a great many strange and wonderful (and quite a number of not so wonderful) things.

In Vietnam, war is still raging, but representatives from all sides gather for a peace-conference in Paris.

In Vienna, a similar conference on the demilitarization of Central Europe is held. 

England, Ireland and Denmark join the European Community. 

A small place in South Dakota, USA, is occupied by Native Americans, drawing the world's attention to the plight of their people and the massacre held there a hundred years ago. It is called Wounded Knee.

Famine threatens in the Sahel. 

Greece becomes a republic. 

The Chancelor of Germany visits the state of Israël, the first to do so since World War II

The Sovjet Party-leader visits East ànd West Germany, then, the USA.

The President of the USA is implicated in the scandal known as Watergate.

In Helsinki, Norway, 35 counties participate in a conference on safety and coöperation.

The USA stop bombing Cambodia.

Both East and West Germany become members of the United Nations.

Coup d'état in Chili, and, again, Greece.

On Jom Kippoer day, Israël is invaded by both Egypt and Syria.

Have died : Lyndon B. Johnson, former president of the USA

Pablo Picasso, artist

J.R.R. Tolkien , author

Pablo Neruda and W.H. Auden, poets

David Ben Goerion, former and first prime minister of Israël

And many, many more nameless and unmourned, exept by the few who survived them.

__

….And in a ruined temple in Greece , an aged japanese businessman on holiday is entrusted with the _incarnation of the Goddess Athena. The Saint who saved her, Aioros Gold Sagittarius, dies._

In far-away Russia, a little one-year old boy is just beginning to walk. In Japan, a two-year old boy is watching _over his baby brother, as a four-year old girl is watching over hers._

….And the world turned….

Wars were ended, and new ones were started, and some just seemed to drag on and on and on ….

There were floods and rioting and terrorism. Political leaders came and went, some deposed, others deceased, and in the best cases, voted away. Dictatorial regimes became democracies, or just changed leadership and stayed the same. _Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose._

The year is 1980.

The western democraties boycot the Olympic games in Moscou, in protest of the Sovjet invasion of Afghanistan.

In Poland, the forbidden trade-union Solidarnosc, led by electrician Lech Walesa, calls for a general strike in the dockyards of Gdansk. 

War breaks out between Iran and Irak.

Solidarnosc is officially recognised : one small step for democracy.

Have died : J.P. Sartre, Philosopher

Alfred Hitchcock, Filmdirector

…and countless others, not so famous perhaps, but they, too, matter. Perhaps more.

John Lennon, musician, peace-protester, former Beatle is murdered.

__

… And in the icy sea between Russia and Japan, a sailing ship is wrecked, a woman drowns, a little blond russian boy desperately cries out for his mama…

….and is brought to his father, Mitsumasa Kido, an aged japanese businessman, who sends him and his other 99 sons to trainingcamps all over the world, to become 'Saints' of Athena. And dies soon after.

…And the world kept on turning….

All over western countries, people march through their cities in protest of the nuclear-arms race, crying out for peace.

Peacemakers are murdered by fanatic warmongers.

Greece joins the European Community.

Lech Walesa receives the Nobel price for peace, and lives.

The Sovjet Union boycots the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Racial riots in Great Britain. Famine in Ethiopia. A poisonous cloud escaping from a chemical plant in India kills 700.000 people, foreboding other man-made disasters to come.

Bravely, Solidarnosc keeps demonstrating for better working conditions and democracy in Poland.

Band Aid, Live Aid … the World tries to feed the starving, but it is not enough, it is never enough. Yet it tries.

A new Partyleader in the Sovjet Union and a new hope : Michaïl Gorbatchov .

East and West celebrate 40 years of peace in Europe since the end of World War II. One small island of peace in a world at war. Peace and prosperity have never been so real for some, and never so far away for others.

The year is 1986, and former dictatorial regimes Spain and Portugal join the European Community.

The Spaceshuttle Challenger explodes during launch.

After years of toil, the Dutch have won a piece of land upon the sea and add a new province to their small nation.

Space probe Voyager II discovers new moons and rings around Saturn.

Haïti and the Phillippines : dictators Baby Doc and Marcos are forced to flee their country.

Another peacemaker murdered : swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme.

The comet Halley sweeps past Earth.

In the Sovjet Union, an accident in a nuclear power plant leads to disaster and massive radioactive 

contamination : Tchernobyl.

The USA celebrate the 100 years of the Statue of Liberty.

On September the fifth, a violent end is brought to the highjacking of a plane, 20 die.

On the sixth, 6 die in an attack on a Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey.

On the seventh, Desmond Tutu, peacemaker, becomes archbishop of Zuid Afrika.

…_And on the tenth, the world's attention is drawn to a unique sporting event held by the Graad Foundation led by Saori Kido upon the death of her grandfather Mitsumasa, in which 10 young boys compete for something called 'The Gold Cloth of Sagittarius'._

On the thirteenth, there is an earthquake in the Peloponese, Greece. 18 dead.

On the sixteenth, fire in a goldmine in Zuid Afrika. 150 dead.

On the seventeenth, a terrorist bomb attack in Paris kills five.

__

… and in Japan, the first battle in the Galactic Tournament is held, only 8 contestants are present yet.

Five days later, the last of the contestants appears only to steal the Sagittarius Cloth.

October 3. A russian nuclear submarine catches fire and sinks in the Atlantic.

__

…and in Japan, 4 Bronze Saints fight their Black counterparts, led by renegade Bronze Phoenix Ikki. 

Though they win that battle, they are attacked by several Silver saints and saved in extremis by a mysterious ally called Mu of Jamir, and his little apprentice, Kiki.

October 4. In the Netherlands, the great dam on the Oosterschelde finally becomes operative. From now on , the people of that low country need not fear the sea's attacks anymore. Or do they?

__

… and in Japan, the Bronze Saints beat the Silver ones. Whereupon Saori Kido reveals herself to be the _reïncarnation of the Goddess Athena, whom all Saints are sworn to obey and protect. The Bronzes are unimpressed, refusing to bend to her will, and each goes his own way. Two days later female Silver Opiochus_ _Saint Shaina attacks Bronze Saint Seiya, closely followed by Gold Lion Saint Aïolia . Athena intervenes, and Aiolia is convinced she's the real thing, and that there is something very wrong going on in her Sanctuary in_ _Greece. How wrong, he is soon to find out, as he is brainwashed into obedience by the false Pope, leader of the_ _Sanctuary._

… And the world still keeps on turning

Following the call of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church Pope John Paul the second, religious leaders from all over the world hold a day of prayer for peace, begging the warmongers for a ceasefire.

A small victory won in the war against Apartheid in Zuid Africa : Blacks may now ride the buses together with Whites.

Chemical waste polutes the river Rhine.

Student revolt in Paris.

Scandal in the USA : the government has delivered arms to Iran. President Ronald Reagan is implicated.

Elie Wiesel, Human Rights activist and survivor from the nazi deathcamps, is awarded the Nobel price for Peace.

A new year begins. In Zuid Afrika, Blacks and whites may now bathe on the same beaches.

Students protest in China, demanding democracy and freedom. Instead, political reform is put way back on the agenda.And they should consider themselves lucky.

The Anti Apartheid boycot of Zuid Afrika is, controversially, broken by musician Paul Simon whose tours the world in concert with Zuid Afrikaanse colleagues .

A photo of a dying Aids-patient wins the World Press photo Award, thus drawing the world's attention at last to the gravity of the problem. A world wide campaign is held to inform people of the dangers of unsafe sex, declaring war on the terrible and still incurable disease.

Michaïl Gorbatchov speaks of 'Glasnost' (= openness) in politics.Dissidents such as Andreï Sacharov are finally freed from the Goelag.

__

On march the third, 1987, Bronze Pegasus Saint Seiya, Dragon Saint Shiryu, Andromeda Saint Shun, and Cygnus Saint Hyoga accompany Athena to her Sancutuary, where, with the help of reformed character Phoenix Saint Ikki, Gold Aries Saint Mu and Kiki, and Gold Libra Saint Dohko, they fight and beat the evil Pope, alias Saga, Gold Gimini Saint.

March the sixth. The ferry 'Herald of Free Enterprise' capsizes off the Belgian coast. 200 drown.

__

March 21. Julian Solo, Greek shipping tycoon, celebrates his sixteenth birthday and proposes marriage to Saori Kido. She refuses. That same night he is kidnapped to the Underwater Sanctuary of Poseidon, where he is told he is the God of the Ocean's reïncarnation. He declares war on Athena.

March 24. Terrible floods ravage the world; it won't stop raining, either.

April 3. Athena makes a deal with Poseidon: locked inside the central pillar which supports his realm, she will receive all the waters he was planning to engulf the earth with. The five Bronze Saints save her, and the world, and vanquish Poseidon, whose spirit leaves Julian Solo.

April 5. Hades, God of the Underworld, resurrects and attacks the Sanctuary.

April 6. The 12 Gold Saints make the ultimate sacrifice to open the way for the Bronze Saints to enter Elysion and vanquish Hades once and for all.

…And the World keeps on turning…

This is a story about people. 

Real people, with all the faults and frailties and failings real people have, and all their strenghts too.

People who care, or don't care, who are often afraid and occasionally brave, who love and laugh and live, and never say die but do so anyway, for all living things must die in the end.

This is a story about the world.

The real world, where people work for a living, and sometimes don't, and often can't, and wonder then where the next meal is going to come from. A world of loving and learning and leaving, of buying and selling and politics. Especially politics.

This is a story about change.

True change: the growth towards wisdom. Towards the realisation that there is not One Thruth, but several. 

Towards understanding and compromise, so that people may work togèther for a change, for mutual benefit, instead of fighting for their petty selves, and their own truth.

Things that have always been càn change, if one tries hard enough. But only if one truly tries.

This is a story about freedom. Freedom from dogma, freedom from 'This is how it has allways been and allways will be'. Freedom from those who want to impose their singleminded version of truth upon the world. 

Freedom from the tyranny of so-called destiny.

This is a story about Life.


	2. Afterlife : 1

AFTERLIFE 

__

Later, when it was all over and they would talk about it, Hyoga would say that it had been Miho who had started it all. Or even Tatsumi. But then Shun would say, sadly, that it had been Seiya's death which had marked the change in them all. And they would fall silent.

Blood. It gushed out from the gaping wound Hades' sword had made, a blazing vermillion colouring red Elysian soil. Seiya's blood, and Seiya was dead.

"_No, no, not Seiya, not my friend, my brother! I would give my own life that he might live…'_

"My fault, my fault, my fault…."

"Damn, damn, damn and damned!"

"It should have been me. He loved life… he had so much to live for…why could it not have been me?"

What Athena thought no-one would know. Yet, wrapped up as they were in shock and grief, they vaguely heard Hades laugh, and say that they had lost their only chance of vanquishing him. And they heard Athena say something about love, about it being the strongest force in the Universe, and how it would always triumph in the end. Hades laughed again and raised his sword against her, and that shook them into action. But the God of Death laughed once more, and swatted them like flies.

Then, Athena raised her staff and drove it straight through Hades' heart.

His final thoughts which he send them with his last bit of consciousness was a sneer :

__

"Love? Only very few people believe in such love, very few…"

…and then the thought drifted off, swept away by the winds of a crumbling Elysion.

Smiling and weeping at the same time, Athena wrapped her arms around Seiya, and in a final effort took them all back…

__

"Back to our wonderful world full of light…"

…where their friends would be waiting to celebrate their victory… 

__

"But what a bitter victory it was…"

…where Seika was waiting, confidently, fully expecting her little brother to be alive. 

They all were expecting him to be alive : Shina , Marin , Kiki… even Jabu, never Seiya's friend.

They were in a terrible state, having been hit by the full blast of Hades' power, trying to protect Seika. 

But then they saw the sun return and with it Athena, and their fatigue and pain were quickly forgotten, in the joy of the moment. Joy that was just as quickly killed for good, at the sight of Seiya's dead body.

Shina just howled out her feeling of terrible loss, crying and shouting : _"Why? Why? Why?!!!!"_

Marin, as ever, remained impassive behind her mask, simply watching her pupil as she had watched him fall down a ravine so many years ago when during a training session he had not been able to hold on hanging upside-down from his feet. It had not touched her then, though he had survived, it did not touch her now.

Seing one's pupil die was the occupational hazard of every Saint. Whether she cared, or did not care, was impossible to tell ; hidden by the mask.

Jabu sobbed.

But perhaps the most terrible of all was to see Seika's grief, for she lapsed back into the amnesia she had been living in for the last seven years, and looked on the scene in complete bewilderment.

__

"Just watching you," Hyoga would tell her, later, "Made me feel like the price had been too high! And I kept wishing I had payed it myself.."

That thought passed through his head, and not only his, more than one in the following days. 

As always happens when a loved one dies, there was a period of disbelieve, the feeling that he was still there, only just left the room, Seiya, so full of life, allways ready to crack a joke, or a fart, at the most inappropriate moment!

__

"He would not sit around and feel dazed, " Hyoga told himself, _"He would go ahead and try to make something of his life!"_

And that was the greatest problem that presented itsself to the surviving Saints, the greatest challenge they had ever faced : the feeling of _" What now? Where do I go from here?" _one gets after great excitement.

There had been a time when all they wished was to lead a 'normal' life, Athena be damned.

Even Athena herself, after the battle against Poseidon, had insisted they should.

Now they were not so sure that it was still possible, even if they had known what a 'normal' life meant.

But the problem was postponed by the matter of Seiya's funeral.

Athena wished it to be held in Sanctuary, of course, in a place of honour in the graveyard where all Saints were buried. But Seika came out of her stupor just long enough to insist that her brother be buried in Japan.

Jabu surprised everyone by defending her viewpoint, his chauvinism for once taking over from his puppy-like devotion to Saori-Athena, and so the Goddess reluctantly agreed.

__

"And that, " Ikki would say afterwards, "Was her first BIG mistake."

For from that moment on, events got more and more out of her hands, starting with the confrontation with Miho.

Miho, meek and mild Miho, ordinarily so subdued, who would not go down quietly, without a fight.

__

"I wouldn't have, " she would tell, " If you hadn't forgotten about me. I was not even allowed in at the funeral!"

Indeed, there had been some commotion at the gates of the Kido mansion – Athena had conceded on having Seiya buried in Japan, but not in a common graveyard, so the ceremony was held in the park, and a grand mausoleum planned- but Tatsumi had sent his henchmen, and , when questioned about it later, brushed it off as an incident of no importance. Nobody thought to question further, and nobody had seen the girl, still in apron

__

("Of course, I had only just heard , nobody had bothered to inform me, it was on the news on television, and I just rushed off without changing!")being marched off by two men in dark suits and sunglasses, like some kind of criminal. Which in the eyes of Tatsumi she was, natirally, having dared to enter the hallowed kido grounds uninvited, and demand to be taken to the princess herself, no she would not please leave, she had as much right as anyone to be here, it was her boyfriend that was being buried, and she was going to give the bitch that had sent him to his death a piece of her mind.

__

"I really hated her then, I really did. I had told Seiya just before he left for Sanctuary that I did not like that girl who always made him do dangerous things thing, risking his life….instead of enjoying it like other young people did…and he laughed it away, saying he did not think other young people profited from their youth in the right way , always idling about, only concerned with the newest craze and taking their girlfriends out –Seiya never took me out!- never sincere… ("What a limited view of mankind in general and youth in particular, there are plènty of young people who care about morer than their petty selves…besides, who are we to condemn those who do Sorry, I interrupted, go on…)… yes, but Seiya took pride in living bravely ( "Yeah, look where that got him!") … It got him killed! And wasn't there! Even that Poseidon was at the funeral, and the one playing the dirge on his flute, and they had been your mortal enemies! It felt like I was such an insignificant person that my feelings didn't matter anyway ('Nor did they, when even ours didn't . We were just pawns in the God-Game." Shun remarked more bitterly than anyone had ever heard him speak)…or like you had forgotten about me…" And they all would feel shame, for they hàd forgotten.

And then there had been the photograph.

In the days following the funeral, they all walked about like zombies . It as as if with Seiya something of their own life's essence had passed away. Marin and Jabu were the first to pull themselves together again, though in her case one could not have told the difference anyway. They went back to Sanctuary to start organising things. 

Kiki was taken along, not so much because of his telekenitic powers that would be of great assistance in clearing away the debris of what remained of the Temples after Hades' onslaught, but to keep his mind occupied: he was not only mourning Seiya, but his master Mu as well, without a proper burial for the latter to help alleviate the pain, and he only a little boy of eight after all.

Shina, too, left, silently in the night, on her own, were to no-one could say. 

Ichi, Nachi, Geki and Ban were in hospital recuperating, and would, with June , soon join Jabu and Marin in Sanctuary.

Shiryu went to China, to see Sun Rei, and brought her back with him, each finding comfort with the other. 

Athena took up again her role as Saori Kido, throwing herself on her work as head of the Graad Foundation, faithful Tatsumi ever at her side ( or keeping such annoyances as angry and upset girlfriends at bay).

Doubtlessly, Shun had been the hardest hit, riddled with guilt at not having been able to keep Hades' spirit out.

He was on the brink of suicide then , if Ikki had not kept repeating over and over : _But you did break the spell in the end, you did force Hades out of yours and into his own body, so that he could be killed. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost!"_

Hyoga felt a little lost then , being the only one without someone special who needed his comfort, or to comfort him. Even thinking of his mother did not help, though he held her rosary each night, kneeling in front of his bed, whispering half-remenbered prayers. She had always told him that God would be there for him in his hour of need, but that just didn't seem to be the case, and anyway, wasn't he a servant of a pagan Goddess? No wonder the Christian God would not listen! He could go back to Siberia of course, to be with Mama, and packed his things, then unpacked them, in two minds about leaving. He wondered what Seiya would have done in his place.

__

"Probably leave, and loudly proclaiming his independence, at that, too!" and he smiled despite himsekf. 

Seiya had always been the impetuous one.

Then it struck him that he had hardly known the boy who had been his younger halfbrother. Just a couple of weeks as children at the Kido mansion, before being sent off to trainingcamp, and then a couple of days during the Galactican Tournament and the ensueing war against the Black saints, with hardly a friendly word spoken between them. After all, they had been enemies then: the false Pope, through his master Camu, had ordered him to eliminate the 'renegade' Bronze Saints. He still hadn't figured out why he had not done so. Killing them all upon his arrival in Japan had been well within his rights- according to the Laws of the Sanctuary, established by Athena : no Saint may fight for his own profit, on pain of death.

What had stopped him ? Was it because he knew even then that they were brothers-had known from the very firts day he had set foot in Japan, and met their mutual father _("No father he! He had not spoken one word worthy of one…")_? Or maybe because it just didn't seem right killing people, even renegades, without allowing them the chance to explain themselves? 

Or simply because he liked them? All three, perhaps, plus the fact that their motivation for taking part in that ridiculous tournament had had nothing to do with personal gain or glory. They had had no choice : all their choices, all their actions, their very lives had been dictated by the Graad Foundation from early childhood.

Puppets they had been, sent away for training, only to be yanked back by Saori Kido , like her Grandfather Mitsumasa before, pulling the strings. But the puppets had broken free from their strings, and had gone their own way. Even after she had revealed herself as Athena, they had not been keen to flock to her standard. 

Again, he smiled : _"Not many would have had the courage to stand up to a Goddess and tell her to get lost, and Seiya had said just that, Seiya, you were the bravest and the best of us all, and you were free! Why did you follow her then to Sanctuary? Shiryu went because his master had been attacked by Deathmask, and I because my own master Camu had thrown the ship which was my mother's resting place deep down to unreacheable muddy depths,but you? What made you go?Who made you go?"_

Then the truth hit him : Seiya, despite his rebellious nature, or perhaps because of it, admired courage above all. And Saori/Athena had shown great courage, vowing to brave Sanctuary alone, if nescessary. 

So in the end they had all accompanied her, and from then on events had been like a rivercurrent, wildly dragging them along , poor orphaned flotsam, untill leaving Athena's cause became impossible: psychologically, emotionally and even physically. The minute they had openly committed themselves to Athena's cause they had become official targets to all her enemies. There had been no question of simply standing on the sidelines and watch, then. 

__

"As if there ever had been a choice for us," Hyoga thought, bitterly, and felt slightly ashamed for it. It felt like criticism of his Goddess and his own father, who had, after all, made the supreme sacrifice of his own children to save the world. He chided himself for being so selfish. Such thoughts were unworthy of a Saint.

__

"But I never wanted to be a Saint! Seiya did not, either…"

He remembered what Hades had said, about having seen Seiya before : a previous Pegasus Saint in a previous war. 

__

"So if Seiya is the reïncarnation of an earlier Pegasus Saint, or perhaps even the very first one, that would explain his supreme loyalty to Athena in the end…and … yes, his love…what if every 200 years he had reïncarnated, like Athena herself, ever since mythological times, and lain down his life for her, again and again and again…what if I , too, am the reïncarnation of the first Cygnus…what if we all are, and keep repeating the same fight on and on and on what if it will never end I don't want to kill anymore all that blood Seiya, blood on my hands I'll never be clear of it Isaac what have I done HELP!!!"

He leaned against the wall, trembling, unsure whether he had screamed aloud

__

"Pull yourself together, Hyoga. Remember that you are a Saint: you did what you had to do, for Athena.

But if you are a reïncarnation…"

He had never liked the oriental belief in reïncarnation, the endless repeat of life after life, sometimes as something better, sometimes as something worse, a beetle perhaps, to be squished under someone's foot. 

The sheer inescapability of it chilled him. You were supposed to learn and better yourself, each time, but what could a beetle learn? Or a Saint, come to that. Exept how to kill better, faster, nastier… hardly a way to reach enlightenment. Well, Saints were taught total detachment and acceptance of their fate, wich was supposed to do the trick. Still, he much preferred the Christian vision of Paradise or Hell after a Final Judgement, when the good and evil in his Soul would be weighed against each other, and he would be sent for all eternity to either the one place or the other.

__

"Probably Hell…but please, dear God , let mamma be in Heaven!" he whispered, hoping no-one would hear.

It was the first real prayer that had ever passed his lips, and he felt better for it. _" Mamma was right, it doés help talking to God. It doesn't matter what happens to me, so long as Mamma is safe with Him, and she is, I'm sure of it." _He almost felt happy again.

Almost.

His wandering had brought him to the room Seiya had briefly occupied, after their return from Poseidon's realm. He opened the door and found Shun sitting forlornly on the bed.

"Shun? Are you all right?"

The younger boy smiled at him , half sad, half ironically. 

"That is really rather a stupid question, don't you think?"

Hyoga nodded, inwardly kicking himself, and sat down next to his half-brother.

"There isn't much left of him, is there?"

" ? "

"I mean, personal belongings, things, like, you know, favourite books , or toys, or something."

"Seiya was never one for much reading, except manga, and none of us ever played with toys- if we ever played at all."

"Hé did, though, too, look, there is his old butterfly net, I remember, Shiryu told me how Seiya nearly electrocuted himself one the fence, chasing one, if he had not warned him in time."

"Rather an odd occupation for someone so dedicated to his own freedom, chasing and capturing helpless 

creatures." Hyoga remarked rather sourly, and immediately wished he hadn't. But Shun appeared not to have heard. 

"I'll take the net, it will remind me of him. I need something…something I can touch…" he gave the Cygnus Saint a look, hazel eyes filling with tears.

Now was his chance for Hyoga to get closer to his little brother, who had done so much for him.

__

"Go on, put your arm around him and give him a hug, you know he needs it, he needs physical contact for comfort, and so do you. Help him, not just because he risked his life sharing his bodyheat with you after you had been delivered fromCamu's coffin of ice in the Libra Temple. Not just because he is your brother. Because you love him…"

Then Ikki entered, and the chance was lost. The Phoenix Saint cast an accusing glance at Hyoga, rushed at his brother's side hugging and soothing him with gentle words, leading him out of the room and away from Hyoga.. It was a softer, almost tender side of Ikki that he rarely showed so openly, though Hyoga had known it was there, hidden by that steely resolve of his, ever since he had glimpsed his halfbrother's Soul, during their battle in the caverns of Mount Fiji. He was the only one who knew Ikki's weakness, and the fierce Phoenix Saint would never forgive him for that., nor allow him to become close, either to him or to Shun. 

Suddenly he felt desperately lonely. 

His eye fell on the pitifully small pile of clothes Seiya had possesed.

A pair of worn out jeans. Socks. A couple of t-shirts, one with chocolate stains all over… _"He would gorge on sweets whenever he had the chance… chocolate biscuits were his favourite, I remember now."_…that was all. 

Not even any underwear. _"Perhaps Shun could wear the jeans, they are about the same size, I mean were…"_

He picked them up. _"Better not… wearing a dead mans trousers, it's a morbid idea…"_

Suddenly he felt the urge to pull them on himself , allthough he knew they were a several sizes too small for him. 

It was a tight fit, the legs going way above his ankles, but he managed to fasten and zip.

__

"Seiya, I wish I could replace you, I wish I had your cheerfullness, your ability to make us all laugh…but was that the real you, Seiya? I barely got to know you ." Lost in thought, he automatically trust his hands in the pockets. His left felt something papery, and he took it out. It was a photograph of a young girl, smiling into the camera, her pigtail and apron making her look even younger than her thirteen years. He had never seen her before. 

And then he remembered someone- Shiryu ?- mentioning a girl Seiya had known at the orphanage, and who had stayed there, and Seiya meeting her again. A girl who had been fond of Seiya, too.

__

"What was her name again…yes, I remember.."

Miho.

__ __


	3. Afterlife : 2

2.

__

"I don't think I ever thanked you for coming over to see me, back then…" Miho would say, much later, and Hyoga would reply that she didn't have to, that it was bad enough that nobody else had done so…but that it had been…difficult.And that he should be the one to thank her, for she had made him realise the… wrongness of it all.

It wasn't easy. It seemed like the decent thing to do , but even as he was walking towards the 'Children of the Stars' orphanage there was a little voice at every step telling him to turn back. And another one egging him on.

He entered the courtyard. This was where Seiya and most of the others had spent their childhood. The part of the Kido 'brotherhood' he did not share . Of the 100 children – all sons- of Mitsumasa Kido only a couple of dozen had been born outside of Japan, and had ended up in the orphanage one way or another. As far as he knew, he was the only one to have been captured _( Càptured? Shouldn't put it in those terms, what made me?…My…my father – our father- meant for the best, preparing us for the hard life that was to be our lot as Saints of Athena, like my master Camu always said : sentiment is a weakness a Saint can not afford, and an ordinary family life breeds sentiment… but wasn't that what we went to Japan for, mamma and I? She said so, we were to join my papa, a man with a great sense of peace and justice, she sàid so, and when I would be older I would help him, she wanted me to promise, but I never did…And it all turned out different, mamma would not have wanted me to suffer so, that's not what mothers want for their children, I'm sure none of the other mothers would either, wonder what happened to them no I must not think that way, everything was for Athena, father was right,must think only of Athena_…) tàken, then, at the relatively late age of eight. Even Ikki had been younger. He had lived with his mother for all of three years, before being sent to the orphanage with his baby brother, so likely he remembered her still, as must Seika, who was in a similar position – at least, as far as Seika remembered anything these days. So that made three of them…and of the one hundred , just nine had survived. 

__

"Ninety of them didn't make it through training… I don't even remember what they were called! I had ninety brothers and they are dead and I don't know their names… but if they all spent time at the orphanage maybe the others do , or the people who run it, there must be records or something. Maybe that Miho knows. Hey, there's an idea, that's what I'll do. I'll ask about my other dead brothers…what do I say? How shall I begin? 

Can't say, hello Miho, sorry about Seiya, do you happen to know… No! Can't do that. Will I even be able to _make myself understood? My japanese isn't all that good…"_

Yes, there was the language problem, too. His mother had insisted on teaching him japanese, though she barely spoke it herself, using a dictionary. Not the best way to learn and anyway he had hated it. The other kids had mocked him because of his accent, though inwardly he much preferred his russian lilt to their harsh, clipped tones.The problem had persisted on coming back to Russia, to train with Camu. Being french, the latter had no gift for languages anyhow, and barely spoke russian, let alone japanese. Isaac, on the other hand, frankly refused to speak russian at all. Like most Finns, he had a chip on his shoulder about Russia, something to do with the Great Patriottic War (Hyoga had learned about that when still in in school in Russia and had sang songs about it as a pioneer, proudly sporting his red scarf like all russian children from age six onwards, another thing that marked his difference from the other Kido's : hardly anyone had had any schooling and most of them could barely read) and Isaac had been very angry with him when he called it thus _(" You bloody Russians invaded us !_ _Call that patriotism? We had as much right to exist as you did!"_ ) one of the rare occasions that they quarreled, another being when his friend learned the real reason why Hyoga wanted to become a Saint. 

Neither of the two boys spoke french, but all three had a smattering of english, which became their lingua franca untill they mastered the Classic Greek, which was as obligatory as being able to crush a stone in your bare fist. And of course Camu insisted upon their learning 'la plus belle langue du monde' as he chauvinistically put it. 

And so it was that Hyoga spoke four languages besides his own (plus a couple of finnish curses) and all of them badly.

It took him full five minutes to decide to climb the few steps to the entrance, and another five to enter. It never occured to him to knock: breaking and entering was the Saint's way, and being polite had not been a training requirement. The finer points of common civil behaviour escaped them.

Immediately beyond the door was a long corridor with several doors left and right, probably leading to classrooms, but all the signs where written in japanese.

"Great."

Hyoga decided to hazard a guess and opened one door – to find himself staring into a broom cupboard. Bad choice. 

He made for another door, and was about to open it, when a voice hailed him from behind :

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

For a moment he h was the proud Ice-Saint again, ready to freeze (quite literally) anyone who stood between him and his goal, as he turned to meet his opponent.

__

"Opponent! Enemy! Just imagine, we had been brainwashed into thinking of other people in those terms!" Shun would say, the bitterness in his voice even deeper than before; "Don't ask questions, exterminate! The perfect killing machine!" " Yes, well, to be fair, the only other people we met where either other Saints or Marinas or Spectres set to exterminate us, so that was the only proper response to any challenge, wasn't it ?" Ikki would argue, reasonably; "Otherwise you'd be dead.". "Always provided that the other had had the same reaction drilled into him. No wonder the God Wars lasted forever; no-one ever stopped to think! Except you, Hyoga…" Shun would turn to the former Cygnus Saint, gratefully , "And that changed everything."

He stood facing a priest, black cassocked and white collared – and scowling. " Gaijin!"

Gaijin. Foreigner. If there was one word of japanese he would never forget ( if he'd never speak it again in his life!) it would be that. Gaijin. The first word his brothers had spoken to him, that day long ago , when, just after meeting his 'father' he was introduced to them.

__

"You are on no account to tell them who you are." Mitsumasa Kido had said –practically the only words he had spoken to his son_-" You will train, eat, drink and sleep with them, but you will not make friends."_

As if he could. From the little he had understood of what they were saying, they were not inclined to be friendly anyway. Only Shun would sometimes smile at him- but then, Shun smiled at anyone. And quickly stop as soon as Ikki noticed, to be dragged away by his elder brother _" And don't let me see you come near to that filthy_ _'gaijin'"._

Jabu made no bones about the fact that he despised all foreigners, and had often led a little band of bullies to pick a fight with the russian boy. Hyoga had ignored the taunts- which was easy as he could not understand them- and that spoiled the fun somewhat, so they fell on him and beat him up. Of course, no-one would come to his aid, not even Seiya, though he and Jabu were more often than not at each other like cat and dog. After a while the ever-dark bespectacled guards would come and seperate them. They had been cheerfully aware of the taunting and the fights from the start, but it was considered good practise for the kids- and entertainment for them. 

Brought before Tatsumi, they would be punished, of course, which meant that Jabu and the others were sent to do some onerous task like cleaning the loo or something, whereas Hyoga, who could not explain, was given the preferred treatment for recalcitrant child : bound and hung from a rope and beaten with a bamboo cane. 

__

"And I bet he'd jack himself afterwards" Ikki would say, grimly, " He was the kind who gets his kicks hurting others; and I know of some of the others- the ones who didn't make it – who were… interfered with too. I was always so worried for you, Shun…" 

" "Why did we think that was normal? Why did we not find it odd – to say the least- that such a sadistic pervert would be in the service of Athena?" " Hey, that's what brainwashing does to you! Were we suckers for punishment or what?"" Considering how often Tatsumi took me to his torture chamber, I should count myself lucky I was 'only' beaten. Maybe gaijins were not to his taste." " Yeah, I guess. Me, I suppose he was weary of me, he knew I'd kick his ass if he'd so much as try". Upon which Shunrei would burst into tears saying she had no idea it had been so bad, she was so sorry, so terribly , terribly sorry, and they would hasten to assure her that Shiryu, he had never been taken to Tatsumi's torture chamber.

"What are you doing here, gaijin" the priest repeated, even more menacingly.

"I come from the Graad Foundation. Miss Saori Kido…" Hyoga stammered in what he hoped was his best japanese. 

It wasn't, but the priest had caught the words 'Graad' and 'Kido' , and that was enough to make him bow like a penknife. Gone were the scowl and the 'gaijin', it was all kowtows and smiles and what can I do for the 'totoï gaijin'.

So now he was a honourable foreigner eh?

"I come for miss Miho."

Big Smile turned into Slight Frown, only half-hidden by a bow. Apparently Miho was not popular here.

"Of course, sensei, I shall fetch her at once. " The man scuttled off. 

"Must be magic words, 'Graad' and 'Kido', " Hyoga muttered to himself. " Here I am, promoted from 'gaijin' via 'totoï' to 'sensei'."

Then he started to worry.

__

"What am I going to say to her? Wish Shun were here; at least hé has met this wretched girl. But with Ikki hovering over him like vulture…wish Shiryu were here, next best thing, hé knows girls, well, one anyway, what's-her-name, Sun-ray or something, the one he grew up with in China..; oh help there they are…."

The priest, all smiles, had indeed come back, a girl ( all scowls) in tow. As he pushed her forward , he hissed in her ear :

"Where are your manners, girl? This sensei is from the Graad Foundation sent by miss Saori Kido herself!"

"Er…"

Before Hyoga could set matters straight on that account, the girl burst out laughing. It was not happy laughter.

"Oh, so now the Great Saori Kido has seen fit to remember me? And she even stoops down to sending me one of her minions… I am sooooo honoured !" She made an exagerrated bow.

"Insolent girl!"

The priest raised his hand to hit her, and Hyoga caught it halfway to her cheek.

"Leave her alone!"

The sneer on the girl's face made room for a puzzled frown.

"Why ? Why the sudden concern?"

"I don't want to see you hurt on my account!"

Really, this went better than he had hoped for. He even found the proper words in japanese. She was warming towards him.

" I.. I know you, don't you? I've seen you on television. You're the one who was late for the contest, the Cygnus Saint. You are Seiya's friend?!!!" 

And she burst into tears. 

"Oh boy."

Consoling weeping girls had not been part of his training. He struggled for the right thing to say, and of course came up with the completely, utterly, totally wrong one.

"Seiya died lieke the bravest of Saints, defending Athena!"

Weeping Girl suddenly became Screeching Banshee !

" Exactly! He died!! And all for that Big-Boobed Bitch_ ( God! Did I really say that? I was so worked up I didn't know whàt I was saying…" "Yes, you really did. And a very apt description it was, too. And don't apologize … except possibly for not being able to say it to her face … wish I'd seen that!") _whose fault it is he got into allthose fights in the first place!_ (Actually, guilt made me say that. Seiya had refused to have anything to do with the Galactican Tournament, but I advised him to participate so that his sister, wherever she was could see him on television… if I hadn't done that things would have turned out different, and Seiya would still be alive…" _

" I doubt it. He would have been drawn into the Godgame on way or other. After all, as Pegasus Saint he was the prize pawn…")

"You don't know what you're talking about. Athena shed her own blood to save the world from a terrible catastrophe." 

" Not before making you shed all of yours! Spare me your explanations, all I know is that Seiya is Dead! Dead!! Dead!!!!"

She pummeled his chest at every scream, and then susbided into helpless sobbing.

The priest was livid.

"Wretched girl! You will be punished for this!"

"She will be nothing of the sort! You will treat her with respect!"

"But…."

Time to throw some weight about, and use the Magic Words again.

"Just do it! My orders are those of Miss Kido, am I to tell her of your disobedience?"

The priest blanched visibly.

"Oh, no! No! All will be done as you say, sensei! "

He bowed so low that he almost bend double. In a minute, he'd be on his knees beating his head on the floor.

These japanese with their onwavering, total obedience! It served his purpose well, but really, before hé'd grovell like that…

__

"Oh , really?" Asked the little inner voice that had been at the back of his mind for days now, pushing him to come here, making him question his Sainthood – even Athena herself! – the one he'd come to identify with his conscience, his Christian conscience perhaps_, "Réally?! Hé may be humiliating himself, but you were obedient_ _enough to kill your master and your best friend …"_ and the other little voice, the good, obedient voice of hisCygnus Sainted Self, cut in : _"But you had to save Athena, and Camus taught me a valuable lesson…" "At the price of his own life? Now that's a bit excessive, isn't it ? Now, if he'd hèlped you instead…""But he did. He made me stronger." "Perhaps, but two Ice-Saints are worth more than one, however strong, strenght in numbers, don't you know…" "Oh, stop it! What's done is done." "Very well. Just remember to what kind of extremes blind obedience can lead to. It has been drilled into you just as it has been in these japanese. And look what it can do: one minute the man is ready to throw you out on your ear, the other he's anxious to please at the merest whisper of the_ _name Kido."_

"Stop it"

He had said it aloud, and the kowtowing priest, thinking hé was being given the command, stopped.

"Is there anything else I can do to be of service, sensei?"

"There is. You can give me the list of names of all the children who were here 7 years ago, at the same time as Seiya…"

"A…? But sensei, Miss Kido hàs such a list! Surely…"

Uh-oh. Time to be arrogant again, or the man would be onto him…

"What Miss Kido has, or doesn't have, is none of your concern. I asked for the list. Now bring it me."

And he gave the man his best Camu-icy look. 

It worked. The priest was running backwards and bowing at the same time. 

He'd get what he wanted, but he wasn't altogether happy with the way he had gone about getting it.

Disgusted, as much with himself as with the man, Hyoga turned to have a word in private with Miha,only to find her gone.

"Oh…Hell!"

****


	4. Afterlife : 3

3.

Athena was Not Amused.

She stood resplendent in a beam of sunlight, on the terrace, towering above him, very much like a greek statue.

Like her own satue, in fact, the one in sanctuary that was no more since Sion, former Aries Saint and late, lamented Pope, in his deaththroes, had sprinkled it with Athena's own blood, thus bringing to life her God Cloth. Except that she wore her totally unsuitable ballgown-like dress with the puffed-up sleeves, which in no way resembled the greek chiton, and that spoiled the effect somewhat.

Of course she had already been informed of the incident by the time Hyoga arrived back at the mansion : the eternally blacksuited and dark bespectacled guards where waiting for him. He could have swatted them like flies without even lifting a finger, but when they told him the Princess was waiting for him he trotted after them like an obedient dog. 

Tatsumi as usual started hurling abuse and spit. 

"Who told you you could go there ?!? What makes you think you can leave without permission? One such as Ikki is bad enough…"

__

"Permission? Do I need permission for every damn thing I do? Permission to wipe my arse on your face!"

"And look at me while I'm talking to you, you hear?"

"Fine. I'll look at you, so long as you stop spitting at me."

"Wha…" Tatsumi almost swallowed his own tongue in anger. Outraged into forgetting whom he was dealing with, he raised his hand to box the russian's ears…and screamed in pain as Hyoga froze his arm.

"Enough!"

Portrait of a Goddess in Anger at her Most Arrogant.

It would have been very impressive, and Hyoga would have felt properly chastised, if the Special Effects department, that is, the weather, had not failed her at the last moment. A huge cloud had come drifting before the sun, hiding it completely, and she no longer appeared a stark silhouette clad in shining light, but a rather ordinary 15-year-old with plain brown hair, grey eyes and a pout.

And _"Gosh she really has got big boobs…"_

A thought for which Hyoga would chastize himsèlf, later, in the privacy of his room, where she had sent him to ponder upon his many sins ( "And don't even think about leaving èver again without my permission!"), like a naughty child.

__

I'm a Saint, for Goodness' sake, I can Tear the Heavens and Smite the Earth _and I get sent to bed without supper by…whàt? A spoiled rotten billionnaire brat…no, no, she is my Goddess, my Comrade-in-Arms…"_

But was she? She had sacrificed herself – more than once!- and had cut her own throat to enter Hades' realm, she had blèd for them…Miho's words came ringing back to him :

__

"Not before making you shed all of yours!"

They had done most of the fighting, and in the end they had not known how to stop fighting, not even in a coma, having rizen from their hospital beds to rescue her from Poseidon's clutches. Saving her. Saving Athena, and the World as an afterthought. First from Poseidon's Flood, then from Hades' Greatest Eclipse. Rushing in where Angels fear to tread _ " And you know what they call people who do that, don't you." _ Hyoga told himself wryly, 

__

"Always running towards battle – up staircases mostly!- never taking time to think. There hadn't béén time…"

And now there was too much time. To think. Think about Seiya. About the dead. The men he had killed…

__

"Camu…Isaac. All the others. Black Swan I tried to spare, but he selfdestructed, but then, who had been the first? There had been so many.Wait a minute, I remember, it was that Silver Saint on the beach, what was he now, Vega, or Capella, …no, they attacked us later, when Saori was kidnapped by that bird-handling Saint. I'm getting them all mixed up. My first kill and I've forgotten. So easy. Without thinking about it, actually killing someone. But that's what it is all about, isn't it? Killing people. Péople."

Well, Poseidon's and Hades' people, mostly, who might not count as such; But then there had been the Battle of the Sanctuary, first, against Athena's own Saints, most of whom had acted in good faith, upon the orders of the man they believed to be their Pope, And instead of trying to convince them that Saori Kido really wàs Athena, they had fought them. Not that they had been given much chance to explain, except with Gold Saint Aïolia.

__

"Now thère's a fool. Instead of talking to his fellow-Gold Saints first, hé went ahead to confront the Pope on his own. Whereas if he had tried to convince Milo or Aldebaran, who were already halfway to turning their backs on their master… with Mu and Dohko that would have made 5 Gold Saints on our side, that would have saved us considerable time, not to mention lives…"

And why hadn't the gold saints hèlped them fight Poseidon, instead of sitting in their respective Temples – next to the Rozann waterfall , in Dokho's case- like a bunch of ancestral relics gathering dust, while hé had had to confront a friend….well, to be fair, Aïolia had wànted to help them, but Mu – of all people, Mu! Their first and for some time only ally against the evil in Sanctuary- had threatened to kill the Lion Saint upon Dohko's instruction (_"Who made him boss?"_) if he set a foot outside the place. True, it had been explained to them that the Gold Saints hàd to remain in their Temples, as te final rampart against the enemy's onslaught. Somehow that didn't ring true. The whole point of Dohko eternally staying next to the waterfall was that from there he could observe the tower of Hades, sealed by Athena, and witness the breaking of that seal, like some kind of early warning system. If just two of the five surviving Gold Saints had been at their side in the realm of Poseidon, they would have made seven , one for each Marina General. Athena would have been saved that much quicker, and there would have been plènty of time to prepare for the coming of Hades. And if one of the Gold Saints had perished in combat, well, if he could not vanquish a Marina what chance would he have stood against a Spectre?

Even then, all the predeceased Saints, including those who had died twice already, had been able to come back and join forces to smite the Great Wall of Elysion. So why were they held back? Why where he and his brothers made to suffer so much? When would it be over, and wèll over? Never, apparently, for Athena had ordered him back to Siberia in order to start training new recruits there.

"Julian Solo and Sorrento the Siren are travelling the world to seek out orphaned children and already they tell me of some promising finds."

"I thought the whole object was to console these children, not draft them into our ranks."

"The two go together. What greater consolation can there be, then to be able to serve Peace and Justice?"

__

"A home and family, perhaps?"

It occured to Hyoga that peace and justice (with or without capitals) would be infinitely better served if these children were allowed to grow up into normal, welladjusted, hardworking, responsible and above all loving adults, not the fighting machines he and his brothers had been forced to become. But he wisely kept that thought to himself.

"And do, please, wéar your Cloth at all times. You four have become the sole protectors of Athena, now that the Gold Saints have gone. You have become semi-devine through reaching the Eight Sense, and your God-Cloths are stronger than theirs, too. Our defense rests upon you, while Sanctuary is being restored…"

He wasn't sure if by 'Our' she had not meant 'Mine'. Nor did he like the idea of wearing the God Cloth. 

What with his golden hair and it's wings, he knew only too well what he looked like : an Angel, straight off an Andrey Rublev icon. . A most disturbing thought, as Angels were supposed to be creatures of startling purity, straight emanations of God's (the christian one) love; and he did not feel particulary pure himself.

If God – his God, the Christian one, he had to keep reminding himself- even existed. 

So far he had had proof of the existence of the Greek ones, and they had started out as humans, to become Gods through reaching the Ninth Sense that allowed them to reach the Big Will.

The Christian God on the other hand had gone about it the other way : He had come down off his Heavenly Throne to become human and mortal, and had died an ignominous death. Hyoga wondered, briefly, if this God was perhaps the Big Will itself, but then, having consciously known the sufferings of a human life, how could it 

in all conscience have allowed the Greek Gods ("_No, Humans turned Gods"!_) to continue their eternal wars, causing so much of that suffering? Eight in all since the birth and death of Jesus Christ, if he counted correctly. 

What had all that fighting be for, if there was no promise of a permanent peace? The way Athena was going on, they were to expect another attack from a new enemy any time soon. 

__

"So who is to be next? With the entire Greek Pantheon to choose from, there are plenty of likely candidates. 

Let's see now, we've had Ares, whose evil spirit had possessed Saga Gimini Saint and driven him into taking over snctuary and insanity…then Poseidon, followed by Hades and his minions Hypnos and Thanathos. 

Of the mayor Gods that leaves us Zeus himself, Artemis and Apollo, Aphrodite, Hera, Hermes, Demeter and Hephaïstos. Possibly also Dionysos and Pan. And when we – if we- have vanquished them all, in two hundred years it will start all over again. "

He breathed deeply, and choked back a sob. _"And with my kind of luck, " _ he said to himself wryly, _" I'll probably be facing another loved one.Except that the ones that are left are all with me …"_

It was a comforting thought, which he clung to, as he lay on his bed staring into the dark, untill sleep overcame him. Yet in those last seconds between waking and sleep, that now-familiar little voice drove another question through his mind:

__

"Are all Gods liars?"

__ __


	5. Afterlife : 4

4. 

Hyoga set out for Siberia the very next day, but his heart wasn't in it. To be sure, he longed to be near his mother's resting place, even though he had vowed never again to dive for the sunken ship. Yet before he left 

Athena had once again impressed upon him the nescessity for replacements of the deads Saints.

"That boy you befriended-what was his name, Yakoff…Jakob?- he seems worthy. See if he has the talent, and train him. We can do with more Ice- Saints. To that effect you will also contact the Warriors of Blue Graad. It is time their exile were ended, and they may take their rightfull place among my Saints."

He had agreed to undertake the mission (_"There was no agreeing to it, I was ordered to go, like it or not. I didn't, but when did that ever matter?"_) much against his better judgement. He wasn't keen on meeting Alexer again, nor was he sure that the new lord of Blue Graad made a thrustworthy ally. After all, the man had usurped his father's throne, and viciously slaughtered the aged and defeated lord. Only his sister's, Nastassia's desperate act of self-sacrifice, going out into the icy wasteland scantily clad and consequently allmost freezing to death, that had turned him round. For everyone, even for such a monster as Alexer, there is someone to love, someone in whose eyes one does not want to see one's own evil reflected. Hyoga could have defeated the man in battle, but he had not even tried. For, as he told him _"I would not deprive your sister of her only reason to live. And _ _I had_ _mother once. Her name was Nastassia."_. 

Still, he had to do Athena's bidding, so he went. He even wore his cloth. 

Alexer welcomed him friendly enough. The young warrior lord had learnt of the battles against Poseidon and Hades *, and seemed impressed. As for the news that Athena was ending their exile, that too went down rather well. Too well. 

"Only too willing am I to lead my people to warmer lands" he said in a very grand and regal manner, which irritated his fellow-russian no end, "For it is on that condition alone that I consent for my warriors to aid Athena."

__

"So thàt old dream of his hasn't been completely abandoned." Thought Hyoga, warily. Briefly, he wondered what would have happened if he had taken Alexer up on his offer of joining the warriors and taking on Athena. 

Who would have fought for her anyway, back then? Certainly not Seiya, nor Ikki, and Shiryu had been far too happy working in the rice paddies, even though he was blind. Shun, perhaps, and certainly Jabu. Against Blue Graad they would not have stood a chance. Dohko? Would he ever have come off his rock? Or Mu? He had helped them in the caverns of Mount Fuji , but not against Poseidon. In the end, Athena would have stood alone. 

Would she have called upon her God powers to save herself ? And if not, if she had perished, would Blue Graad have succeeded in taking over Sanctuary? Would Kanon have tried to move the forces of Poseidon against them? 

Would they have been able to withstand Hades, whose waking was certain? In retrospect, his choice seemed to have been the right one. But it had had nothing to do with liking for Athena, merely a dislike for Alexer. 

At the time, he could not conceive of a man who could kill his own father, and had been appalled when the young warrior had laughingly admitted to having done so. And the benign old lord, Pjotr, had been a far cry from his own father, whom a number of people would have exellent reason for killing, including he. Not that he would have done so. He hoped. But Ikki might.

Thinking of the Phoenix Saint gave him an idea.

__

"Someone needs to keep an eye on Alexer, and Ikki's just the man for the job. He's good at guarding and," he chuckled to himself, _"He might lay off Shun for a while."_

The thought of the arrogant Alexer being watched over by the equally arrogant Ikki amused him. They were truly alike : both were extremely powerfull, both had been filled with resentment and hatred, both had lusted for power, and both had been saved by love, the love for his brother Shun in Ikki's case, and the love for Nastassia in Alexer's. 

And, no surprise there either, the resemblance went even further, for Alexer turned out to be just as protective of Nastassia as Ikki was of Shun.

* In my introduction I said I placed the Blue Graad episode inbetween Poseidon an Hades, because Hyoga uses the Aurora execution. However, he still has both eyes. Upon reflection I therefore put it a little sooner, namely in the three months after the Medusa adventure and before the battle for Sanctuary, a time during which none of the bronze Saints have decided yet to follow Athena or not. Of course it was not the Aurora execution Hyoga used but the Kholodni Schmerz

Hyoga could hardly speak with the girl without the warrior casting a baleful eye in his direction. 

__

"Now what is he afraid of, that tI'm going to take off with the girl?"

Nastassia was sweet, and overjoyed to see him, but he wasn't interested in her, at least, not in the way he supposed Alexer feared he was interested. _"Lucky for him that Athena did not sent Seiya, he's the ladykiller of the team…"_

And then he remembered again. Seiya was dead. 

Nastassia could not understand why the Cygnus Saint suddenly went pale, and broke off their conversation, announcing his present departure. She felt quite hurt.

"Must you go? So soon? You have barely arrived, and I so much want to hear about Sanctuary. Is it truly as beautifull as they say it is ? "

Despite his pain , Hyoga made an effort to smile at the girl. _"Actually, it's just rock and ruins and rubble and full of sweaty men and you wouldn't like it one bit", _but he did not want to squash all of her illusions. After all she had been trough she had maintained that quality of innocence that was also so apparent in Shun. 

Of all his brothers, the Andromeda Saint was most dear to him precisely because of that quality. Also he shared Shun's passionate belief that there should be another way, other than violence and bloodshed. 

Nor would he ever forget what his so-fragile looking brother had done for him as he lay frozen in the Libra Temple after Shiryu had delivered him from Camu's Ice Coffin. He felt that Shun would be the only one he'd be able to confide in, to share his misgivings about Athena and Sainthood and everything.

A growl from Alexer brought him back from his reverie. Thinking of Shun he had kept smiling at Nastassia, and that was not to her brother's liking. He hastened to tell her how much she reminded him of the Andromeda Saint, hoping that that would reassure the warrior. After all, he was on a diplomatic mission and it wouldn't do the relations between Blue Graad and Sanctuary any good if the young lord believed him to have designs on his sister.

At her request, he described Shun as well as he could.

"Though mere words can not do him justice" he added regretfully, " He is the best and the bravest among us!"

"I like the way you your eye sparkles when you speak of your brother. You must love him very much. "

"Very."

So she had noticed. Every time of late, when he looked into a mirror (which was not often, for he was not vain and cared little about his appearance, scarcely bothering to comb his shock of blond hair), his face would be staring back at him, dejectly, his remaining eye dulled with the pain of too many battles. But thinking of Shun made it better, made him feel more alive. For he had suffered so much, his body had been taken over by Hades, his very soul raped, and yet he could still smile. How could anyone fail to love him? 

"Does…does your eye trouble you? I could help you change your bandage, if you like…"

"That will not be nescessary." Alexer cut in , " Hyoga would not want you to see the wound, for it must be grievious indeed, if it has not healed by now. As you know, a Saint's healing capacity is amazingly fast."

Hyoga refused to be drawn. From the way the other russian had said it, it was clear he knew quite well that his injury had been slight, and was daring the Saint to contradict, and in doing so admit his weakness. 

During the confrontation with Isaak he had all but begged his former friend to take his eye, in retribution for the one The Kraken Marina General had lost through Hyoga's fault. But Isaak had barely scratched the pupil, not bothering further as he meant to slay the Cygnus Saint anyway. If he allowed it to heal properly, he would have his vision back. But he didn't. An eye was a small price to pay for the murder of a friend. Especially a friend like Isaak, who had always helped him, without whom he would never have made it through all those years of training, and who had saved his life at the peril of his own.. 

Yes. Murder. No matter how often his brothers assured him that it had been inevitable, even nescessary to save Athena, no matter that they told him Isaak had condemmed himself the day he choose to side with Poseidon 

( and they called it treachery and a crime so hideous that it could only be punished by death, for any Saint – even a mere apprentice- to join the enemy no matter whàt, it still felt that way. Indeed, their words made his guilt all the greater, for it was all his fault. He had lost Isaak. 

So he thanked both Nastassia and Alexer for their kindness and hospitality, and returned to his own domain.

Yet on leaving the palace of Blue Graad, Nastassia gave him a single white flower, the only kind that would grow in these barren lands, and that but briefly in summer.

" Please lay it on your mother's , my namesake's grave. I wish I had known her."

"My mother has no grave." Hyoga replied somewhat curtly, " She went down with the ship that was to take us from Siberia to Japan. For years I hoped to bring her back, and when I was strong enough I dived down to pray by her side, but my master Camu cast the ship deep into the murky dephts so that I might detach myself from the memory of her.."

"And did you?" she asked softly, her seagreen eyes filling with tears of sympathy.

"No."

With that, he left, not daring to look back.


	6. Afterlife : 5

5.

A Siberian summer is more beautiful than any other for being so brief. It seems nature tries to make up for the little time it is granted to bloom. The tundra is like a sheet of water, glittering blue under a sun that never sets.

No trees grow here : these are the frozen marches, the land of permafrost, of rough grass and mosses.

And yet they bloom : violets , forgetmenots, red clover, wild roses, foxgloves and brown-red thistles. 

They fight for a little air and space and light. Some form wreaths on the fields of moss : a sea of brightly coloured flowers.

Siberia's people reflect this brightness : they are cheerful and happy when the long, harsh winter had passed. 

Not that Hyoga had ever had much to do with them. Camu's training camp was a little outside the village of Kohutec, and his master had not encouraged fraternising with the natives anyhow. He had only tolerated Jacob because the boy brought in supplies _("I wonder if those were ever paid for." "Hmmm…nah, the common mortals were probably bullied into handing them over, just as they were bullied into keeping their mouths shut about the existence of the training camps in the first place." "Or hypnotised." "Makes you feel proud to be a Saint, doesn't it?" "Oh yes, we were adorable."). _On the other hand, it was just possible that his master had, too, seen promisein the lad, and had merely been waiting and hoping for his aged grandfather to kick the bucket to take Jakob on as an apprentice. 

Hyoga felt a sudden pang of guilt. He would be as much to blame if Jakob were to choose to become a Saint : he had encouraged the boy to visit him, and had sought out the his company (more and more so after Izaak's disappearance) when loneliness overcame him. The child had become attached, close on hero-worship. 

It had been Jakob who had saved him from Alexer's dungeon in Blue Graad, having brought him his Cygnus cloth. Still, despite the hero-worship,the boy had so far kept his feet firmly on the ground and though he had watched Hyoga training often enough, he had never shown any inclination to follow in his footsteps, sensible lad.

"Last time we met, he promised me a feast of borsjt. I should take him up on that."

So instead of going straight for Camu's izba, he headed for Kohutec and its local store, over which Jakob lived with his grandfather.

He noticed the change already from afar : the dead quiet of what should have been a lively village. When your chances of going out in the sun are limited to a few months a year, you tend to make the most of it, and the people of Siberia lived the summer outdoors. Yet there wasn't a soul in sight, and as he came to the shop, he found it closed. 

Should he knock? Should he try some other time? Perhaps Jakob's grandfather was ill. Yes, he should knock, offer his help, his sympathy, anything. Jakob had always been a good friend , a little brother he had never had, though at times far 'older' than he, being more world-wise, and he, Hyoga, should not turn his back on him now. He knocked.

"They are dead and gone"

A woman's voice : old, cracked, but still firm. It was one of the many baboesjka's in the village : he could never tell them apart. 

"So you've returned." She spat on the ground; "What about the french fellow, is he coming to?"

"he…he's dead." Hyoga answered taken aback by her hostille manner : the village had always held him in awed respect - frightened respect perhaps? Somehow that had changed.

"What…what do you mean dead?"

"I mean dead. Starved, the old man did, like most of the village when the supplies stopped coming with the storms. But not me! I buried them all!" 

She cackled.

"But …Jakob?"

"How should I know? Ask your friend. He took him, didn't he?"

"Who..What..When…Where..?!!"

But the old woman had lost interest, turned and hobbled away to her own home, leaving Hyoga aghast and full of questions.

__

"Whàt friend? Shun? Shiryu? Why should they?Why should they come in the first place,Or…"

His heart skipped a beat. Only two other persons could qualify as friends, and as the woman had asked after Camu that left the other…

"Isàààààk "

He ran all the way to the isba.

__

"It hàs to be Isaak… he was as strong as Camu , and hé managed to come back from the dead…twice! It hàs to be!"

It was Ichi.

Hyoga had not seen much of the Hydra Saint since returning from Elysion, nor had he wanted to. 

Through combat and pain and the mutual need to survive, Cygnus, Andromeda, Dragon, Pegasus and even Phoenix (though he'd never admit it openly) had bonded somehow : something that was neither friendship nor brotherly love, yet both : a comradeship that can only form between people that have faced death together for a long time: the other five Bronze Saints had had no part in that. And Ichi had never been a likeable fellow to begin with. Hyoga well remembered their confrontation during the Galactic Contest. 

Hydra had moved in concentric circles around him, gleefully explaining how exactly he was going to die, slowly and painfully, through poison. Not a honourable way of combat at all, and hardly worthy of a Saint of Athena.

__

("Hah" Ikki would snort at that , "Was my soul-ripping thing any better? We were fighting machines, who cared how you got your man down?" "And slowly and painfully is soooo much more amuzing." Shina would add. 

And Sun Rei would again burst into tears. This time none would try to comfort her, too close to crying themselves. Cursing or crying, whichever suited their temperaments best. Mostly both.)

Ichi was in full Saint regalia (which explained why the baboesjka had called him Hyoga's 'friend') and was sitting laid back in a chair - Camu's chair, the only one there was - with his legs up on the table.

On the floor a small form was doing push ups : Isaak, stripped to his underwear. 

"672…673…674…" 

The child was clearly exhausted, but kept going, like an automaton. Sweat was running down his face, and through the worn grey flannel Hyoga could count his ribs.Skinny arms that were all bone kept pumping : 

"677…678…679…"

The boys breathing went ragged and wheezing. Ichi clapped in his hands at every up.

"681…682, hello, Hyoga, welcome home. Hey kid! Who told you to stop? Continue : 683…"

"Enough!"

In a flash the Hyoga was at his friend's side, grasping the boy and putting him on his feet : he slumped back in the Cygnus Saint's arms. 

"Jakob! I am so sorry! So very sorry!" he whispered in russian, and he craddled the child,rocking him sofly, as one would do a newborn babe.

Trying to contain his rising anger, for Jakobs' sake, he turned on Ichi. 

"What the hèll do you think you're doing! Jacob's nearly half starved as it is, how dare you put him through this..this…" he spouttered as he struggled for the right word. "Cruelty!"

Ichi shrugged.

"Standard training , I would say. No worse than what we went through, even before the training camps;"

"This is not the Kido training grounds nor is Jakob an apprentice either!"

Ichi flicked his feet off the table. 

"Not yet, but he will be. Athena has ordered it." 

Hyoga bit back a _"Stuff Athena"_ and instead hissed between clenched teeth : " Athena asked only to check for potential in the boy".

"So I checked. Good of me, no? And he hàs, so I decided to start training right away; What's the matter Hyoga, gone soft all of a sudden?"

The Russian was too furious to answer. He fought down the urge to strike Ichi right in the smirk. But for Jakob, he had to remain calm : the boy needed him. Without a word he carried the almost unconscious child to the bedchamber. 

The whole room smelled dusty and mouldy. He had been away for so long and noone had bothered to come clean and air the place. The mattress of Camu's bed - like the chair, the only one, he and Isaak had always slept on fur rugs on the floor - had taken a green tinge and it's grass filling was rotting, but the blanket was still useable. He wound it round Jakob's prostrate little body. The boy stirred, and opened his eyes.

"Hyoga, Is it really you, Are you truly back?"

"Yes.. yes, I am. Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"You are never around when we need you." the boy muttered, and fell fast asleep.

Hyoga made him comfortable on the furs, then went back to confront his half-brother.

Ichi had put his feet back up again and was chewing something.

"Nice enough place you've got here…want some?" 

In a cloud of garlic breath he offered Hyoga a dried sausage.

"I heard there had been a famine here, so I brought a packed lunch."

"Did it occur to you to bring enough for everybody? Everybody that's left, I mean. People have starved to death in the village."

"Sad. Not my look out, though. I only came for the kid."

Again Hyoga had to fight the urge to strike him. But now Ichi had as good as avowed that he had not come on a chance visit in a whim of his own : no, the Hydra Saint had clearly been sent for a purpose.

It was not hard to guess what that purpose was : to spy on him, Hyoga. To see if he was doing as he was told, like a Good Boy. Sent by Athena to make sure he was training new Ice Saints, new assassins at her service. 

His Saintly Duty.

But not with his friend! Not with Jakob!

"Out."

Ichi gaped at him in an even worse whiff of garlic, bits of sausage trailing from his openhanging mouth.

"Wha…?"

"I said : out! This is my home, my domain, you will not interfere with how I run things here!"

"Oh but you don't, and thàt's the trouble!"

The Hydra Saint sprang to his feet, and began circling his half-brother.

"I'm here to cut the slack! You've been loitering about...."

"I was in Blue Graad at Athena's bidding, forging an alliance!"

"Oh, you have to come up with better than that to convince us! You see, your lack of enthousiasm in forming new Saints has been noted, Hyoga. Afraid of competition perhaps, hmm? " 

He gave a half-giggle, half-cackle.

"Afraid of no longer being the One and Only Ice Saint? Afraid of losing your much-vaunted 'edge' over us? 

Proud you are of that power, yesss? Want to keep the sssecret all to yourssself ? Forget it, the Warriorssss of Blue Graad are Ice Ssssaints too…" " Warriors whom I won over to Athena's side, may I remind you…"

"Piffle! Athena could have sssent anyone elssse!"

The Hydra thrust his face close to Hyoga's : the smell of garlic became almost unbearable . 

Ichi had always been creepy, even as a child, with overhanging brow and jutting chin, making him look more like a primate that a human boy. Several broken jaws and noses later had not improved his looks. His eyes were so sunken in that it almost seemed he had none, just whites. Hyoga was looking straight into them : dark and squinting. 

Ichi cackled again.

__

"One more time and I swear I'll hit him…"

"Don't you get it? You've done your bit, you've saved the world, thank you very much, and you thought : that's it? Not good enough! Constant vigilance, that's what's demanded of you, or àny Saint! But you and the other three, you think you're so great, you're half-devine, you've faced down Death himself, and now you think you can just sit around and mope! Well I've got news for you : the world doesn't revolve around you, nor does it around Seiya!"

Hyoga hit him.

The Hydra Saint flew backwards halway across the room, trailing teeth and blood.

In two strides Hyoga was upon him and had him by the troath.

"You listen, and listen good! True, you are my half-brother. True, you are a fellow- saint. True, I am sworn to protect the Earth from harm. But I will not hesitate to rid it of _shit_ like you first, got thàt? Don't èver speak of Seiya like that, EVER !!!"

Dragging the other to the door he added :

"You can tell Athena that I will do mu own training _in my own sweet time_ ! Better yet : I'll have all prospective candidates take a good look at YOU and then let them choose! Now gèt out and stày out!!!!!"

He threw Ichi out, head first in the snow.

Leaning back against the door after he had slammed it shut, he felt bad. Very bad. Worse than bad : foul. 

It wasn't just that he had given in to a fit of uncharacteristic temper; It wasn't just that he had hid his own brother (he had done so before, knowingly, anyhow). It was that he now fully realized that being a Saint did not automatically mean being one of the 'Good Guys'. Quite the contrary. He wielded formidable powers, and Absolute Power corrupts absolutely. Witness Deathmask. If he had, in the end, joined the other Gold Saints to break down the wWall of Lamentation, that may heve been more out of opportunism than comradeship or love for Athena. Athena who also wielded Absolute Power.

__

"Why does a Saint allways resort to violence first?" it was a question Shun had often asked : Shun who abhorred violence. Hyoga knew he was no excerption to the rule, he had just proven it with Ichi. That knowledge left a bitter taste in the mouth.

And then there were the last words of Jakob's : 

__

"You are never there when we need you."

It wasn't the first time his friend had spoken tose words to him. Back in Blue Graad , he had reproached the Cygnus Saint in the very same terms. And he was right.

No Saint was ever around when truly needed : when needed to do something réally useful, like…like…he couldn't think of a single thing. All a Saint could do was fight and that was not usefull ; not constructively usefull, that is; He had destroyed so much. So many lives. He wanted to build; not houses and stuff, but build. Help build lives; 

It slowly dawned on him that, in order to do that, he would have to begin by building his own. 

But first, he had to go to Japan. With Jakob.


	7. Afterlife : 6

6.

The orphanage was unuasually quiet for the time of day. Normally the playground would be teeming with noisy children. Now there was only a little girl, swishing a length of rope over her head, and stepping, not skipping, over it: swish and step, swish and step, to and fro the yard. An empty swing sofly went back and forth in the wind, making a _swee-yip_, _swee-yip_ kind of noise: a paper plane lay in a puddle : it had rained, the previous night. 

"Is this the place?" asked Jacob, incredulous. Even in his little siberian village, he had seen more life.

"Yes, this is the orphanage were my halfbrother Seiya used to live…and Shun and Ikki, and Shiryu, too. In fact, all of my …of Mitsumasa Kido's sons of japanese mothers ended up here. I'm not sure, perhaps he owned the place." At that, Hyoga added, rather bitterly : "He certainly thought he owned us. Anyway, the very name Kido opens doors everywhere."

"I hope they'll open here, then, 'cause the place looks closed to me; deserted even."

"There is the girl. We'll ask her to get Miho for us." said Hyoga. As he moved to open the gate, another girl, a young woman really, appeared in the doorway of the house..

"Is that Miho?"

"No…that is Seika, Seiya's sister! Why isn't she at the Kido Mansion? But then she too grew up here : perhaps she felt the need to go back."

It was a need the Cygnus Saint could identify with. Though he had resolved to go to Japan and have his differences out with Athena and the others, part of him told of summer flowers in Siberia, of glistening ice, of his mother's muddy grave. That part yearned to go back.

__

"Stop. Don't dwell on it. You have been thinking of your mother for years: it is enough. Bringing her body back from the deep was all you ever wanted, it's the reason why you became a Saint. It cost Isaak his eye, and, ultimately, his life. You vowed never to think of it again: stick to it. Let her rest in peace. But oh, mamma…mamma…"

Seika came running towards them, across the courtyard. He hair was dishevelled, and her face strangely flushed. Hyoga opened the gate to meet her.

The reason for her hot colouring became apparent: she had been crying: her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. Yet they flashed lightning, as she snapped : "What did you come back for? Haven't you done enough damage already?"

"Damage? I don't understand…"

"Oh no, of course you don't. " the girl sneered: "You are a Saint, you aren't supposed to understand , just to obey! Obey my order then: _go away_! And don't you _dare_ show your face in here again!"

And she slapped him.

For a moment there was silence. Seika appeared to be as perplexed by her action as Hyoga was. Then she gave a sob, and turned and ran back, gathering the little girl in her arms along the way. The child protested, and was half dragged, half carried into the house. 

"She doesn't seem to like you very much, does she?" asked Jakob, amused.

The older russian blinked, then shook his head. 

"I've never given her reason to like or dislike me : we hardly exchanged more than a few words, in the short time since we met. I doubt if it is personal…at least I hope it is not, rather a dislike of Saints in general, or Sainthood. Judging by her woords, she despises us for our blind obedience. I'd agree with her on that point. Strange though : when I left for Siberia, she had fallen back into the semi-catatonic state she had been in while she lived in the village of Rodorio. I thought she was in shock because of her brother's death, but apparently she has snapped out of it."

"I'd say she has. Maybe she blames Seiya's death on you Saints, or Athena."

"Possibly. Probably. Miho is of the same opinion. Well, I don't suppose either of them will want to speak to me…we'd better go to the Kido Mansion."

Jakob made a face. "Let's hope they are a bit more welcoming there. I thought the japanese were the politest of people…unless hitting each other in the face is their way of saying hello?"

Hyoga laughed despite himself. Jakob was such a bright, perky kid. He was glad the lad had recovered so quickly and kept his quick mind and quirky sense of humour. The ordeal Ichi had put him trough had left no trace, but then, children can be very resilient, and Jacob was siberian born and bred: that made him tougher than most.

He ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

"In Japan, people bow, and smile, and call you 'san'."

"Is that like our 'tovaritch'?"

"Hmmm-mmmh. Doesn't mean a thing, either : behind all that bowing and smiling there is a deep-rooted contempt for the gaijin."

"What's that when it's at home?"

"Blond, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, foreign devil. Non-japanese. Us."

"Oh, nice. Remind me : why did we come here?"

"Don't worry! Not all japanese are racists. My brother Shun certainly isn't : you'll like him. I think we'll call on him first: he lives at the Mansion, but I'll sent him a telepathic message to meet us elsewhere. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell us what's been going on here, and then we can think of our next move."

"Very practical, that telepathy, saves you the cost of a telephone! Just like that teleport ability of your…wheeee! Can you go anywhere on earth?"

Hyoga, rather ruefully, admitted that he couldn't.

"Only to places I've already been to, or where I'm really sure of the right coördinates. Otherwise, I might end up caught in solid rock."

"Ouch. Not an experience you could learn from."

"Yes, it _is_ very dangerous. I took a huge risk, teleporting you. Jakob, I'm sorry, I should have explained."

Jakob flashed him a toothy grin.

"Don't worry about me. With Grandfather gone, what have I got to lose in Siberia?"

"Your life." said Hyoga, gravely ," The greatest gift there is. Not something to be squandered ." 

As an afterthought, he added: "Except when you are a Saint, of course, life means nothing to them : the Cause is all."

"Them? Don't you mean, 'Us'?"

Hyoga smiled bitterly. "No, _them. _I'm not a true Saint any longer. At least, not the kind of Saint Athena wants me to be. "

"Can one resign from Sainthood?"

"I hope so! I intend to."

Thus talking, the two boys had left the grounds and were walking down the lane. They had barely reached the corner where they had to cross the street, when a small voice hailed them :

"Psst! Psst! Hyoga-san!"

Surprised the Russian looked up at where the voice was coming from : the top of the wall that surrounded the orphanage. The caller was the little girl with the skipping rope, who had somehow managed to scramble up.

"Seika sends me! She wants you to meet her on the beach near the rocks, at sunset."

Before either of them could say anything, the girl had jumped off on the other side.

"First she hits you, now she tells you to meet her, japanese girls are really weird. Fickle."

"I wonder. Somehow I get the feeling she tried to warn us. Maybe wait to contact Shun untill I know what is going on here."

"So what do we do now?"

"We go to the beach, and wait for sunset."

Jacob, suddenly a very little boy again, jumped for joy, throwing his arms in the air: 

"Wheeee! Can I swim?"

"Why not? We might as well enjoy ourselves!" chuckled Hyoga, "Race you?"

"Not fair, I don't know the way, and you can teleport!"

"Then follow me!"

They sped off, carrying on like young foals set free in the meadow for the first time, laughing as they went.

The air was sweet, though the day was cool, and to the two russians, accustomed to siberian conditions, it was heaven. Hyoga felt very light-headed: he could not remember the last time he had allowed himself to relax and just play. The beach was deserted. They collected shells, build a sandcastle, kicked at the waves and finally plunged in, Jacob in his underwear, Hyoga, for modesty's sake - his wardrobe did not include a slip- wearing only his trousers. While the younger boy paddled around like a dog, he played seamonster , ducking up left right and all around his friend, with lots of splashing and roaring. The child gurgled with delight, and Hyoga himself laughed so much that he felt weak in the legs and almost went under .

__

"I believe it was then that I realised the enormity of the crime committed against us. They had robbed us of the happiness of Childhood." "Only then? I knew that from the day Shun and I first set foot in the Kido Mansion. 

It nourished my hatred all through training."

Though rapidly sinking low, the sun dried them, as they went to lie on the sand after their swim. 

"It's time" said Hyoga, regretfully, after a while, " We had better go." 

"Do you know the place?"

"Yes, it is where I … where the first battle against the Silver Saints was fought. "

They reached the rocks soon after they set out. It was eb, and there were puddles : Jakob started hunting for crabs, Hyoga sat down to watch the sun as it slowly folded into pink clouds. Only the gentle rush of the surf on the sand broke the silence. And…

"Thank God you came!"

Hyoga jumped to his feet. He had been so at peace with himself, happy almost, that he had dropped his guard, returning to the state of an ordinary human being with only five senses.

Seika had taken him completely by surprise; and another surprise waited for him as he turned to face her, for Sunrei was standing beside her!

"We haven't got much time," said the japanese girl "They are after you."

"After me? Who? Why? Seika, what is going on? Why aren't you at the Mansion? Why aren't you both there?"

"Because there one is continually watched over, or, more properly speaking, under guard. So I offered to look after the remaining Children of the Stars, when Miho left…."

"Left? Miho?!!!"

"Thrown out, rather. She voiced her anger once too often, and that displeased the Mighty Goddesss. And then they took the orphans away…"

"Away? Why? Who?"

"Who do you think?" answered Seika impatiently"Don't interrupt, Hyoga, please! You are in grave danger. I don't think the priests saw you this morning, but you never know : they certainly will have reported it if they did. I am sorry I slapped you, but I could not think of any other means to make you go away without attracting suspicion to myself."

"But why…why? Why are you here, Sun…Sunrei?" asked the Cygnus saint, totally bewildered, not just by the news, but also by the way it was said, for the Seika that stood before him was a far cry from the dazed Seika he knew.

The younger girl burst into tears for only answer.

"She quarreled with Shiryu." Seiya's sister explained," So she left, too."

Hyoga's mouth fell open. The little he knew of their relationship was that Shiryu and Sunrei were devoted to each other. 

"The Children of the Stars were brought to the Mansion to be tested for Saint potential, and Shiryu started training those who passed straightaway. Sunrei had been led to believe that they would be leading a quiet life from now on, and spend it together…"

"He lied to me!" the chinese girl blurted out, " Shiryu lied to me! He _promised _there would be no more fighting…those poor children, the things they made them do, you cannot imagine…"

"Oh, I think I can." said Hyoga grimly.

"Did it involve a thousand push-ups?"inquired Jakob, making a face as he remembered what Ichi had put him through.

Sunrei nodded tearfully.

"They had to run for hours in the heat, and if they lagged behind, or took a breather, they were beaten. Then they had to jump into an icy pool…some fell ill afterwards: they had been so hot from running, and then the sudden cold…one of them…"she choked.

"One of them died instantly : the shock." finished Seika, " You can imagine neither of us wanted to have anything to do with those monsters, after that."

"Shiryu claimed it was nescessary." sobbed Sunrei, " But the war was over, wasn't it? What need did they have of more Saints?"

"The same need as they had of Seiya."said Seika in a taunt voice, "More violence. It's their answer to any real or imaginary threat, why so surprised? I was rather expecting it. Mind you, my first reaction was to leave for good, but that would have meant abandoning the children. Besides, leaving would make my true feelings plain, and I don't think I would have lived free for long…if allowed to live at all. These people are ruthless : I knew that the moment I regained my memory. That is why, when you came back from Hades, I pretended to have lost it again…it seeemed safer. For I remembered _everything_, Hyoga. How they tore Seiya from my arms, telling me to forget about him. How I tried to see him at the Kido Mansion, and was taken back to the orphanage to be beaten into obedience.How I fled, after Seiya was sent off to training camp, and stowed away on a ship headed for Europe. How, in Greece, I tried to reach Sanctuary. And succeeded. "

Hyoga was getting more and more bewildered.

"But…I thought that you fell of a cliff or something…"

"'Or something' allright! That is the official version _Marin_ told everybody. In reality, I was brought before the Pope, and _made_ to forget. Then they put me at the bottom of thet famous cliff, for the villagers of Rodorio to find…they are all brainwashed into servitude over there, you know. Slaves to provide Sanctuary with food and drink…the women, of course, the strong, healthy ones, must see to the Saint's… other needs. Where do you think new Saints come from? Oh yes, you can search the slums of the world for orphans, there's plenty and to spare, but those rarely make it that far: bronze at best, for their constitutions are weakened by generations of malnutrition and hard living. So they become guards, or labourers in Rodorio. A girl like me, with a brother a potential Saint, was of course a prize find. New, strong blood : the perfect brood-mare."

Sunrei gasped at her friend's crudeness.

"Not in front of the child!"

Jakob guffawed. "you mean me? I know how babies are made. It's Hyoga who is the innocent, here, look, he is blushing."

"Flushing, rather."said the older russian, "With anger. I should have known. Of course I often wondered how come, with all of today's modern technology, none of Earth's governments ever meddled with us…despite the fact that we have trainingcamps everywhere…"

"Us?" asked Jakob maliciously, "I thought it was 'Them' now."

"Force of habit. My point is : the rest of humanity never questioned nor complained, not even when _they_ put fire to the whole planet…or, more recently, flood…there are indeed specialists in Sanctuary of the kind that can block or at need wipe the minds of other Saints, so the things they can do with ordinary mortals…Bozhe Moj, it makes me feel sick!" said Hyoga with sudden vehemence, "The Saints are answerable to none, save their 'Pope', and Athena, when she makes her appearance every 200 years or so. Seika, you took an enormous risk, letting them believe your mindblock is back in place. You had better try to slip away quietly, like you did before, start a new life somewhere else, under a different name…"

She laughed at his naïvity.

"How would I do that? They hold my identity papers , and they won't let me out of their clutches that easily, not this time. Besides, Graad controls all of Japan and most of South-East Asia; I'll be on the run all the time, living the clandestine life of an illegal immigrant."

Hyoga was not sure how to answer that. Like most Saints, he knew little or nothing of the way 'ordinary mortals' went about their lives and their business. The fact that they had to possess such things as documents to prove that they are whom they say they are in order to get anything done was beyond his comprehension, yet he dared not show his ignorance. He had heard the mockery in Seika's voice, and it had bothered him. Bothered, because he knew she was right.

"And Miho? Were is she? I'd like to speak with her too."

"Try the 'Pink Bunny Bar' in Tokyo's 'hot' area." said Seika, with more resignation than bitterness in her voice. "Young girls without connections or the nescessary papers can't hope to find work anywhere else. Talk with her if you wish, she'll tell you much the same thing we have." 

She pointed at Jakob: " Take the kid out of here, though, while you still can. Let him hide in the vastness of Siberia. Anywhere is better than here.As for yourself : you've all but been declared outlaw. Better start running."

"No." said Hyoga, "I won't run. It is time somebody confronted Them. But I will take your advice about Jakob."

He turned towards the boy: " Unless you _want_ to become a Saint, of course."

"No way! I'm not suicidal. I don't want to have anything to do with those murdering bastards…oops, sorry, Hyoga."

The Cygnus Saint smiled : " Don't apologise for the truth. We are all murdering bastards led by a murdering bitch. The only excuse we have is that we did not realise that; or if we did, we were led to believe that it was nescessary. There has to be another way. I'll just have to find it." 

He turned back to look at Seika, and there was worry in his voice: " You had better return quickly to the orphanage before you're missed. If they find out we met, they might do worse than brainwash you.

"What could be worse than that?!?" cried Sunrei.

"They might kill you."

__

"There was talk of that, too" Ikki would later inform them, " Naturally, they asked me for the job: ex-pschycopathic killer makes perfect executioner, they figured." With a glance at a stricken Sunrei, he would add : " Shiryu knew nothing about it, of course, nor did Shun, or any of the Saints with some sense of morality left. Ichi,Geki and Jabu were in on the secret, though I suspect the latter more out of devotion toAthena than sheer ruthlessness like the former two.The excuse, of course was, as always, a great and pressing danger looming ahead. That worked in your advantage, rather: they were too obsessed with the coming God-wars to notice what was brewing in the ranks."

The 'Pink Bunny Bar' was extremely gaudy…and extremely 'hot', in all senses of the word. Hyoga was glad that he had told Jakob to wait for him in the nearest subway-station, which was crowded enough for even a gaijin kid to pass unnoticed. Still, it was with heavy heart that the Ice Saint entered the bar. If Jakob feel into the hands of Graad, he would never forgive himself.

"Hello, Johnny sailor! " cried the Bunny Girls in chorus, " Welcome in the Bunny Bar! Want to have a good time?"

They were all dressed in pink underwear with pink camisoles, besequined stiletto sandals (pink) and bunny ears. On a stage, a girl, wearing even less, with a white fluffy tail on her bikini bottom, was dancing round - and with- a shiny metal pole. It took him awhile to recognise Miho. 

She recognised him though, and, finishing her dance in a way that made him feel very strange in regions of his body he dared not dwell on, jumped off the stage to join him, flashing him a huge smile and parts of her body he dared not dwell on even less. 

"Buy me a drink, Johnny sailor?"

Before he could reply, she had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off to a relatively quiet corner. On their way there, half-drunken gamblers groped for those parts of her she had flashed at Hyoga, before taking their chances at the flickering slot-machines. 

She laughed at his shocked expression. "They do that for luck. Gamblers are always the best tippers, too…later, sweetheart, later I'll give you all the luck you need." (This to a most possessive as well as obsessive gambler).

As they sat down, the 'naughty' - Miho reverted to the demure Miho he knew.

"You came back! Did you see Seika at the orphanage? How are the children?"

"Erm… what's with the' Johnny'?"

"All gaijins are called Johnny. Please, Hyoga, tell me about the children."

He told her. She did not cry. She was beyond tears, now.

"Miho…I ams so sorry…and to see you like…like this!"

"Don't be. It's a decent enough place to work, and the proprietor doesn't make us girls do anything we don't want to do. So I dance and let the gamblers touch me up a bit, and I get to keep half of the tips, plus board and lodging free. In the orphanage I had to work night and day for nothing! And I have got contacts …I hope to earn enough to get fake passports for me and Seika, and Sunrei too, now that she's broken up with Shiryu, to get out of the country."

"Where would you go to?"

"Anywhere! America. Anything's possible in America: we might even find people who know people in the government there, who would listen to our story. Something has to be done about Athena and Graad. "

She eyed him closely: " Unless of course you are here as a faithfull servant of The Bitch, come to kill me. That is what you Saints do, after all."

"I don't want to be a Saint anymore." said Hyoga , "Now less than ever. But alone you don't stand a chance. To oppose Them we need more than one Saint on our side. Shun would be a good start : he has allways abhorred killing. Together we can convince Shiryu, and so on."

Miho laid her tiny hand on his strong, scarred one.

"I..I am so glad that you say 'we'. That I am no longer alone."

"So am I."


	8. Afterlife : 7

7.

__

"We were just so amazingly naïve." Seika would sigh, later," Thinking we could take Them on! How they must have laughed."

"I don't think that they laughed. I believe they were genuinely worried that someone so close to Godhood was capable of saying: 'No!' turn his back on all that Power and walk away. For time uncounted the Gods had danced their Deadly Menuet with the Saints, but now a Half-God had broken free."

"Very poetically put, Shun. I would have called it an age-old Slugfest. Beat the crap out of each other, last one standing is the Winner and the new Champion: Winner takes all. Good thing we won in the end. "

"Did we? Why does winning allways seem so much like losing, then?"

Of course everything went wrong.

Somewhat reasured about the 'Pink Bunny', Hyoga had left Jakob in Miho's care, _(" That proved to be the perfect hidout : they had forgotten all about me, and if they had remembered, they would never have thought of looking for either of us in such a 'den of iniquity', where people came to have a good time, one way or another._

Imagine :dancing, drinking, gambling… such immorality! Such total depravity!Kkilling people is soooo much better." "I don't like it when you are being bitter, Miho. It's over now.""No it isn't .It never will be.") and had contacted Shun. 

They had agreed to meet, at the rocks. Shun, incapable of thinking ill of anyone, had told Shiryu. And Shiryu, incapable of thinking of anything else but doing his duty, now that he no longer had Sunrei, had told Athena. 

Hyoga and Shun had barely exchanged a few words when out of the blue appeared Ichi, Geki, Jabu, Asterion …and the Mighty Goddess herself, all in full Cloth.

The Cygnus Saints knew he didn't stand a chance, if he were to put up a fight, which he didn't intend to anyway. He shot a reproachfull glance at Andromeda, and saw to his relief that his halfbrother was just as astonished as he. It comforted him to know that Shun, at least, had not betrayed him. Then he berated himself for having thought so : Shun would never knowingly betray anyone.

"On your knees, Cygnus!"cried Ichi, obviously enjoying the situation and out to get his own back. 

Shun opened his mouth to protest, and Hyoga sent him a mental warning which he hoped would not be 'heard' by the telepath Asterion: _"Don't interfere, whatever happens, or you'll find yourself in the same mess as I am in. I don't want that on my conscience as well."_

Shun's mouth snapped shut.

Hyoga knelt before Athena. It was the only thing to do.

The Goddess looked down on him, sternly. 

Then she smiled.

__

"That was the worst : the condescencion. She kept going on about how she understood my pain, how I had to let go of it. How she needed me."

He looked her squarily in the eye, then.

"But I do not need you."

__

"That must have caused some consternation. Oh boy, I wish I had been there. Probably the first time in a long while - probably the first time ever - anyone ever said a thing like that to her. But you really crewed up there, Hyoga. Big time.Of all the answers you could have given it wasn't the most diplomatic one! You should have grovelled. Or buttered her up : tried that famous Russian charm."

Hyoga had been neither charming nor diplomatic then : he quite frankly accused Athena of lying.

"This was supposed to have been the War to End All Wars. We defeated Ares, Poseidon and Hades; we saved the world three times over and we all thought we could be at peace for a change."

The Goddess did not grow angry at his words, nor did she reproach him for having said them : she merely looked at him mournfully, and replied in a sad voice: "I hoped so too, once. I truly believed we could lead the life of normal people of our age, and oh! How I wished it to be so! Yet such is not for us. We are the Guardians of the World, Hyoga : Constant Vigilance is our Sacred Duty, to which we are pledged."

Speaking in capital letters was rapidly becoming a habit to her.

"Remember your Oath, Hyoga. You know how I abhorr fighting …."

"Yesd, that is why you let us do it for you." said Hyoga hotly, "How can we ever hope for the fighting to stop if you insist on training new Saints? Those children deserve a life…"

"So they do, yet Earth has to be protected."

"At the cost of their happiness?"

She sighed again.

"Oh Hyoga, I had so hoped that you would find happiness in the fulfillment of your duty! It will steer your life, give you a pupose. Sanctuary is your home. We are your family. After all, you are an orphan, as are all Saints…"

"Orphans, yes : no-one needs them, no-one misses them, who cares if they are put through _hell?!? _And if some 

die, one can always replace them. Orphans are expendable. Was Seiya?"

The question sounded like a reproach, and Athena felt it. The grey eyes grew hard.

"Seiya was a true Saint, the truest there ever was…you, obviously, are not. Know this, Hyoga : from now on I expect only the strictest obedience from my followers. There are too few of you as it is : we can not afford to make any more mistakes. You will go back to Siberia, with a number of children. You willl train them. Or you will die : _I will not have any renegade at large_! Is that understood? Then the choice is yours."

"At least now you are being honest!"

Athena turned to Shiryu :" Dragon, you know what to do."

Hyoga laughed.

"Dream on! Shiryu will never raise his hand against me…"

His laughter was cut short as Shiryu's fist landed in his stomach, making him gasp for breath.

More than pain raged through him : Shiryu had betrayed their friendship! Shiryu, who had sacrificed his eyesight in the battle against Medusa to save his halfbrothers, who had been the first to make the sacrifice of his life during the battle of Sanctuary! Shiryu, always so calm and quiet, almost as withdrawn as he himself was. From the very beginning he had sensed some kind of inner peace within his half-brother. He did not do so now, and understood the reason at once : the love of Sunrei had brought the Dragon Saint this inner peace, and with the one he had lost both.

Another blow, this time in his face, made Hyoga reel backwards. He tasted blood on his lip.

"When did it become so easy, Shiryu?"he asked, wiping his mouth.

The Dragon Saint made no other answer than to raise his fist, yet before he could strike again, Andromeda's chains zoomed through the air, circled round Cygnus, tightened and threw him to the ground.

"Down before Athena, and beg for mercy, you traitor!" Shun cried.

__

"I had to make them all believe I was on their side. With Asterion scanning everyone's mind, I thought it better if you believed it too. I could see the hurt in your eyes when Shiryu hit you, and I just knew that you weren't going to put up a fight anymore : you had had enough of killing those you loved. So I had to make you : it was touch and go : for a moment there I believed I had pushed you over the edge instead."

The betrayal of Shiryu had been bad enough; seeing his favourite brother turn against him as well all but broke Hyoga.

"Let him go, Shun. " said Athena, her voice surprisingly gentle," It must be his decision."

The chains feel from him, and Hyoga looked up, into his Godess eyes, so full of compassion. She held out her hand.

"Be my Saint, Hyoga."

He smiled, and lightly touched her fingertips.

"I am no Saint" said he.

Not even Asterion saw it coming.

End of part one.


	9. Family : 1

Part two : Family

1.

With a deafening screech, the boeing 747 skidded to a final halt down the runway. As it turned and began to taxie towards the arrival gate, a lone figure half-jumped, half-tumbled out of th small compartment that fitted the nose-wheel. Hitting the tarmac, the figure rolled and jumped to its feet in one go; then, neatly avoiding the left back-wheel, ran across the grassy stretch towards the fence that marked the limits of the airfield, and vaulted over. On the other side, he stopped for a moment to get his breath back. 

He had been travelling in this fashion for days now : he had lost count. Likely he had gone round the world more than once, hitching a ride in the hydraulic systems of the largest of planes. He had even flown Concorde. 

It was not the most comfortable method of transport, but he had probably managed to throw Them off the scent this way. Possibly They were still looking for him in Japan, or else on the ships that had left since. He smiled inwardly. Would it occur to Them to check the _flights_ out? One cannot stowaway on a plane like on a boat. 

True, via the wheels one can creep up, and there is room there for one person, or, if one manages to get through to the hold, one can hide among the luggage, but in-flight, the temperatures drop to well below zero, and the air becomes very thin. Only an Ice-Saint could survive. But would They think of it? He had not thought of it himself, and had been ready to _swim_ his way to the mainland, when an airplane roaring overhead had given him the idea. 

Then again, could They really stop anyone from leaving ? After all, Japan was quite a bit bigger than the grounds of the Graad foundation, They couldn't put an electrified fence around a group of islands. 

"I wouldn't have been at all surprised if They had. Do you know that within the hour of your disappearance, They had closed down all the harbours, down to the smallest fishing port? Without so much as a squeak from the Government : She had them all in Her pocket. She cracked the whip, they jumped the hoop, and if they wouldn't jump, She'd cut of their money-supply. Graad was paying for the damages done by the floods of Poseidon, which was not more than just, considering who was responsible, though I doubt that She did it out of kindness. Just another way to get people under her sway; and it worked."

"You make Her sound like some crazy, power-mad Evil Enemy from a manga. Truly, there was goodness in Her, and kindness, and a great love for Mankind."

"Amazing how you managed to keep that incredible naïvity of yours throughout. But I wouldn't want you any other way, little brother. Incidentally, have you noticed how we keep referring to her in capital letters? It runs deep, very deep."

Teleportation would have been easier, of course, but that meant linking in with the Big Will, and They would certainly be able to locate him then. Plane hopping just seemed the best way. He was tired of running, though. Besides, since he had no idea what kind of plane he was boarding, let alone its destination, he might inadvertedly turn up back in Tokyo! He grinned. "_Now wouldn't that be the best of all possible hiding-places: in the woods_ _behind the Mansion? The last place They'd look!"_

He wondered if They had gotten free of the ice yet. Such fools, believing They could take him on! They knew of his ability to drop the temperature to Absolute Zero. Had he done so, They would all be dead now, even Athena.

__

"Now that," Shaina would say," Would have been the smart thing to do. Save us all a lot of trouble later."

"Yes, and I won't say I wasn't tempted, but it would have affected Shun and Shiryu too…and I was so tired of killing."

So he had refrained from using his ultimate weapon, the one against which no substance could resist (_"Why didn't I use it on the Great Wall? Together, Camu and I could have destroyed it, and all the Gold Saints would still be alive.That just goes to show: combined action is not a Saint's forte. How stupid. How utterly stupid!")_

And had merely locked them all in an ice coffin, which only an ice-Saint can break from the inside, and for an ordinary Saint, from the outside, it would take the aid of the Sword of Libra. Still, it would take Them awhile to recover, so he supposed he was safe enough for now. He could take time off frome running to…to do what?

__

"What is there for me to live for? They took _childhood , my innocence and every hope for a normal life. Whatever that is. Guilt is with me every stinking moment for the rest of my stinking life. Death would be a relief._

So it's rather a good thing that Saints traditionally die young."

But he didn't want to die. He had missed out : Life _owned_ him. _They_ owned him. They owned _all_ of them : Seiya and Shun, Ikki and Shiryu…yes, and Seika and Miho too, and even Ichi, Nachi, Geki, Ban and Jabu…all of them, twisted and turned into fighting machines, killers, assasins…_and _ the Gold Saints, the Marinas, the Spectres…how many of them had asked for this life? It was all crystal-clear to him now. The Gods had used them…for what? Was it a game, or was their some Higher Purpose? 

__

"If a purpose is served by violence and bloodshed, it cannot be higher. Oh Athena, Athena, who are you, what are you?What were you, before you reached the Ninth Sense and the state of Godhood? Do you still remember that time? Don't you ever regret your Humanity?"

The growling of his stomach interupted this train of thought. Even Saints have to eat, and his last meal had ben with Jakob.

Jakob. He hoped the boy would be allright. 

__

"Likely he is. He's always been more streetwise than I. When we entered Miho's dressing-room, with all those half-naked girls, and their…things lying about, I just didn't know where to look with embarrasment, but he took it all in his stride! But a' gaijin' child is not a common sight in Tokyo…and can those girls be trusted? Wouldn't they sell him out to Graad? What if Miho sees in him the oppurtunity to get her papers and Seika's and Shunrei's….oh, these are wicked, wicked thoughts, I should trust her!"

Yet how can someone who feels betrayed by a Goddess have trust in a mere mortal woman? He tried to reassure himself with the thought that, doubtlesly, all the Saints were now on the look-out for him, the renegade, and would not bother about such small fry as Jakob. 

Once more his stomach rumbled. He _really_ had to find food, but where? And, more importantly, how? Up till now, he had always been provided for : he had never had to care for his own provisions, apart from the occasional trapping of a snowhare, when supplies ran low in winter. He looked around, and found himself walking along a traffic-filled road. Ahead, many buildings could be seen, dark blotches against the rosy sky of a rapidly sinking sun. Left of him, a bridge arched up, turning southwards, cars zooming along it. He decided to continue the forward road. After a while, he came to a signpost : a white arrow, sprouting side arrows, one left, one right, on a blue background. There were words written on it, too : he spelled out the topmost one : B-r-u-s-s-e-l / B-r-u-x-e-l-l-e-s. It left him none the wiser, but then, he supposed, he had probably misread, for though he could read greek and cyrillic fluently, and could recognise some japanese, the latin alfabet was barely familiar. 

The arrow forking left indicated that that road led to places called Namen/Namur and Luik/Liege, and the one right pointed to Antwerpen/Anvers, and Mechelen/ Malines, wherever those cities - _if_ they were cities- where. 

__

"What strange land is this that they spell the names of their town two ways…or perhaps they are two different places alltogether?No matter, I've never heard of any of them. Sounds a like a fairly enigmatic sort of country, this, what better place to lose myself in? "

He went on, and came to the crossroads, where the road he was following was cut by a three-lane motorway. 

Cars went every which way, but mostly rightways, so he thought it best to go left, to where they were coming from. As he followed the motorway, he went under a couple of bridges, and by and by entered the outskirts of the city, or so he presumed, for where there had first been trees and shrubs on either side of the road, there now appeared tall buildings, office blocks, and further off, the occasional house. There was a small brook running besides the road, and he went past a whitestone statue of a lion, guarding the entrance of a a park, with a large, ornamental pond and fountain, and a white mansion at the far end of a green , sloping lawn. It reminded him suddenly of the Kido Mansion, and he began to run, along the brook, past clumps of trees , and a wall, that ran ahead untill he arrived at an intersection with another road, again with cars going every which way, and also yellow trams, moving left and right up and down between the trees that marked the middle of that tree-lane road, along their tracks, and yellow busses, stopping to let masses of people in and out, so many cars, so many people, going about their business, not knowing what was going on, who he was, whom he was running from, nor why, stupid people, didn't they realise the danger they were in, hadn't the Poseidon Wars and its floods been a warning to them and now Athena was going to war again, perhaps with Zeus the greatest God of them all and there weren't enough Saints left and they didn't stand a chance in hell and everyone was going the die and the earth was going to be destroyed and that was all his fault …

A loud screeching of brakes, a hand that grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him to safety on the kerb…a harsh voice crying :

"Espèce d'imbécile,t'as envie de mourir ou quoi?"

In his panic he had crossed the road, and narrowly avoided being hit by a tram. A man had grabbed him just in time. There was a smell of burnt sand, the engine driver was shaking his fist at him, and all the people inside, rocked out of their seats, stared.

The man let go of him, and asked, in a gentler tone : "Ca va? T'as rien? Merde alors, tu m'as flanqué une de ces frousses! On t'as jamais dit de regarder avant de traverser la rue? T'aurais pu te tuer!"

French? They spoke french here? Was he in France then? Well, at least he'd be able to understand.

__

(Author's note : From here on the following conversation, held in french, will be directly translated into english, except for the occasional untranslatable expressions unique to the french language.)

Still shaken by what had happened, and, slightly piqued by the man's admonishing words - after all, he was a Saint, a tram was hardly likely to achieve what all the forces of Ares, Poseidon and Hades had failed to do- he replied, sharply : "So what? It's my life, I can kill myself if I want to, _hein?"_

"Not in front of me!"

Anger crept back in the man's voice, as he frowned, and took Hyoga by the shoulders : "Damn you, kid, who do you think you are? Think the world revolves around you, do you? What about those people?" ( he waved a long-fingered, thick-knuckled hand at the disappearing tram) "What about the scare you'd give them…and the driver! How do you think he'd feel, if he had run you over?"

"I…I never thought."

"Of course not." spat the man, "With you kids it's all me-me-me and no consideration for anybody! Oh, hell!"

He pased his hands over his face," I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions like that. I don't know the first thing about you : but, kid, if you are in _real_ trouble you should talk to someone."

Hyoga's throat suddenly felt constricted, partly because of the unfairness of the man's earlier reproaches, and then, because of his sudden concern.

"I don't have anyone to talk to" he mumbled.

"_I_'m available."

"You would not believe it!" cried Hyoga, desperately, " No-one would."

"Try me."

"I wouldn't know where to start."

"The beginning is the usual place." said the man, kindly, "Though not here, in the middle of a busy road. Come, let's cross the _boulevard,_it's quieter over there. And then it's up to you whether you want to tell me all or not…either way, I'll be listening."

Hyoga was not sure what to make of this man, first so angry, then so nice…it was not something he was accustomed to. Saints don't do 'nice'. But he followed him, into a small parc, where a cobbled-stone lane circled 

a small lake, bordered by weeping willows. Ducks and grey-black coots were resting on the water, and several white swans came drifting by, gracefully arching their long necks. There hung a smell of wetness, and freshly-mown grass, and evening sun on early autumn leaves. On one side of the lake, little blue-and -white painted row-boats were drawn up and tilted upside-down, all neatly in a row. 

Slowly, side by side, they walked, untill the road hit an asphalted street, where a wire fence seperated the lake from another, larger one, with forested slopes running down towards it, and above the trees the turret of a small castle could be seen. There was a green parkbench, and the man went to sit on it, looking up at Hyoga.

"Vas-y, mon gars. Je suis à l'écoute…"

Hyoga looked his unexpected friend up and down. He was younger than his gruff voice led to suppose, twenty-five at most, and would have been extraordinarily handsome…if he had not been so extraordinarily ugly. No, ugly wasn't the word, it was…as if someone had decided that this fine model of a man was too boringly perfect, and had marred it, to make it more interesting. Though not much taller than Hyoga himself, reasonably broad-shouldered and narrow-hipped, he walked on a pair of knock-kneed stork's legs, their thinness accentuated by the tight, black trousers he wore, with a jolly, red-an-purple bandana around his left tigh. Over his wide, white shirt he wore a multi-coloured vest, and a baggy fawn overcoat. He sported a shiny bowler hat on the back of his head, and a brown canvas bag was flung over one shoulder. But the most remarkable was his face : framed with longish, thinning ginger hair that ran straight but for a jaunty curl on his forehead, triangular-shaped with high cheekbones, a thin-lipped mouth, heavily-lidded, grass-green eyes that shone with intelligence, overshadowed by bushy eyebrows…and a nose that somehow had not been able to decide on becoming aquiline or ski-slope. Underneath grew a small mustache, its tips twisted up. But it were the pock-marks, leftovers from a really bad case of juvenile acne, giving his features the appearance of a lunar landscape, that finished the whole and made him plain awful. Hyoga squirmed, and didn't know where to look. Then the man took out a pair of round, wire spectacle, balanced them on the tip of that impossible nose, and, mimicking the young russian, looked him up and down with those impossibly green eyes of his… and then he smiled, and suddenly the sun broke through in Hyoga's dismal world, turning it all pearly light, for the warmth of the man's smile gave him the good feeling of having found a true friend.

The clouds drew back almost instantaneously, for how long would this man remain his friend (always supposing he _was_) once he learned the truth? Even with his Saint's dim notions of Right an Wrong, he knew that, in most people's eyes, what he had done was very, _very_ Wrong. 

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad that you can't tell, and if it _is _, then you _must _tell…if you follow me."

"I do…but if you knew…"

"STOP anticipating my possible reactions an TELL me."

He told him.

He was barely halfway his tale, when the man, whose eyes had first grown wider in disbelief, and then his lips thinner from pressing them together hard, stood up, and said, in a voice filled with ill-compressed fury: 

"J'aime pas quand on se paie de ma tête."

Then he added, to himself, in another language (which Hyoga recognised as english) : "That will teach me not to play the Samaritan with stray kids."

"I _told _you you wouldn't believe me." said Hyoga, haltingly, in the same tongue.

(_note of the author : what follows is spoken in english, and no longer a translation of a french conversation)_

The man's eyebrow's drew to a thick line.

"Quite the polygot, aren't we? Well, kiddo, I am not amused. I don't care if you've robbed a bank or set fire to your Headmaster's trousers, whichever you think is worst, but don't you dare cheek me into believing a cock-and-bull story like than, because I won't."

"I can _prove _it!" 

"You've already proven yourself to be a terrible liar, don't add to it."

"I'm _not _a liar. I _am_ a Saint. I _can_ prove it! " cried Hyoga, furious in his turn.

"Stop being so childish."

"I am _not _a child. Don't you dare disbelieve me, don't you _dare!!"_

Throwing all caution to the wind, Hyoga concentrated hard on his sixth sense, and, in a gust of arctic wind and snowflakes, called his Cloth to him.The man was literaly bowled over, as the shiny box hovered overhead emanating icy energy. 

"Great god!"

"No God!" the Cygnus Saint screamed, " No God, no gods, no _Gods, damn them all to Hell!!!!"_

In a throwing gesture, though he did not touch the object, he keeled his Cloth Box over the fence and into the water of the lake. It froze on impact. Hyoga sent a wave of energy after it, and the ice cracked up and burst in a series of gunshot-like explosions.

"Okay, okay, I'm convinced!" cried the man, scrambling to his feet, fingers groping at the wire and eyes wide in terror, "Stop it, whatever it is, you'll be deep-freezing the swans next! Stop it.Calm down! I'm sorry for not believing you. I am _sorry_ I said!" He was trembling in shock and fear, as Hyoga, snow twirling a round him, took a step closer.

" I could deep-freeze _you. _Say you believe me. Say it!"

"I believe you." said the man, quietly.

"I believe that you have great, god-like powers. I believe that you can kill me in the blink of an eye. I believe that you would. What kind of person that makes you is another matter entirely."

"It makes me a murderer." whispered Hyoga

"If you are trying to scare me…" said the man, managing a weak smile, " You've succeeded."

The Ice - Saint sank to his knees, sobbing.

"I don't want people to be scared of me…I scare myself! I want to be normal!"

"I believe you." repeated the man, "However…"

The sudden sound of alarm sirens interupted him.

"…that is a problem for later ! Come on!"

He grabbed Hyoga by the hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Run! In a minute the place will be teeming with _'flikken'_!"

"With what?!?"

"Police." answered the man impatiently, " It's Crowndomain on the other side of the fence, and , just to make matters worse, they are having a Council of Ministers in the _Chateau _over there. They probably think someone has been trying to blow up Martens!"

"Who?"

"Our Prime Minister. Now _come on_… or do you want to wait around for the cops to collect you? "

The man did not wait for Hyoga to reply, but started running down the asphalt road, holding his bowler hat tight with on hand. The Cygnus Saint hesitated for only a second, then ran after him.

"To the right and uphill, here!" cried tha man, panting a little. Hyoga easily overtook him, and, seeing that he would not be able to keep up speed, gathered him in one arm , swept him over his shoulder and went to Mach One. The man barely had time to scream.

They were up the hill in an instant, where four roads came together at a small, trangular square, overgrown with shrubs.

"Where to now?"

"Down. Me. Put me down! Left road…no, wait, I need to get my breath back. Over there: through the gate."

The man pointede weakly towards a white-and-green painted latticework gate, in the curve where two roads joined. It was locked : Hyoga took the chain, ready to pull off the padlock, but the man stopped him in time.

"No need for that, we can easily worm through." 

Pusshing the gate till the chain was stretched to maximum, they did so. The man flopped down on the ground, ashen.

"That…was not an experience I'd care to repeat."

"I'm sorry." said Hyoga, contrite. His friend - yes! It was a friend! - looked dreadfully pale.

"Nevermind. That must have ben the fastest getaway in criminal history."

"Criminal!"

"Throwing litter in the duckpond _is _an offense."

Despite himself, Hyoga felt outrage.

"Litter! My Sacred Cloth-box!"

" It's still litter when you throw it away. Which you did. "_No Gods!"_ you said, and off it went. A small gesture, but eloquent. You really hate those Gods, don't you?"

"It was silly."muttered Hyoga. "Childish. It achieves nothing."

"It's a start." said the man, soberly, " A statement : _No more Gods!_ : good. Short, sharp and to the point : I like it. 

Destroy - or in this case, throw away- a symbol of Godhood : better. One Small Throw for Man, but a Giant Leap for Mankind. We're better off without Gods. You're on the right track, kiddo! "

Hyoga leant back against the gate, suddenly breathless. That was it! No more Gods! That was what he wanted! No more Aresses and Poseidons and Hadesses, and if that meant no more Athenas, so be it! Resolve flooded back to him: he had finally made a decision. He would make a stand against the Gods who kept the world in thrall! He felt good. He felt great!

Elated, he turned to his new friend, to thank him.

The sound of a police-car siren growing louder and louder as it approached, cut him short. 

The man cursed softly as they made themselves small, a row of white cars, a violent crimson bar running horizontally across their sides, zooming past. 

"Potdoeme, den Gendarm!"

"Eh?"

"Sorry, I slipped into dialect. It's the police, but a special branch, military organised. The fat is really into the fire now. Allright, we'll take the back road. "

He pointed up a drive that turned right towards a somber looking house. 

House? It was more like a mansion, build of red brick, huge and step-gabled, with small windows like little dark eyes staring out at them.

"Do you live there?" asked Hyoga, as they spurted up the drive. 

The man did not immediately answer, but as they followed an alley to the side of the house, darkened by a group of huge pine-trees, he gave a small laugh.

" Do I look like I could afford it? It's family-land, though. A Great-uncle of mine used to own it, and when he died, his heirs have let it fall to ruin. Over the wall here."

The alley had turned out to be a dead-end, where a two meter tall wall barred them from entering the neighbour's garden. 

"A good thing it's dark. We have to climb over it, go left between the shrubs, then run across the lawn at the back and over the gate: there is a small lane behind."

"You've done this before."

The man grinned. 

"Many times, as a boy. Short cut from here to home."

"Home!" 

Hyoga pronounced it like it was a foreign word, and indeed to him it almost was. To have a home, one needs a family. The only family he had ever had had been his mother. The brotherly feelings he had for Seiya, Shun, Shiryu and Ikki were but a poor surrogate : they had never been allowed the time to make themselves a 'family' of sorts. He wondered what a home looked like. Then he wondered if he could ask the man for some food, before he went on his way. Once more his stomach growled. The man stifled a laugh.

"We'll have to do something about that! Can you keep it quiet though? We have to cross now. "

They ran across the lawn and jumped the gate, into a narrow cobbled-stone street. 

"All safe! We'll be home in a jiffy."

Home. This was the second time his new friend had mentioned home, as if he meant to take Hyoga there.

The Ice-Saint stopped in his tracks.

"You are taking me to _your home_!"

"The man looked at him quizzically.

"You don't have to come, if you don't want to, but we're almost there, supper will be waiting, and besides, my family will be interested to hear your story."

Family! The man had a family! Suddenly Hyoga felt envious of that lucky, lucky stranger, who had all the comforts he had yearned for most of his life. Family! A mother and father perhaps? Oh, why couldn't it be him, for whom people were waiting. He remembered the small room in the house where he used to live with his mother, with its dirty, shared kitchen and dirtier bathroom and the eternal smell of overcooked cabbage, which nevertheless they had called home back in the days before they left for Japan. He recalled how mamma would be waiting for him, always, when he came back from school or the pioneers, how she would hug him and ask him how the day had been. Sometimes, she would make him _blini, _with delicious sour cream filling, and always there was hot, sweet tea from the samovar. Always mamma had been there for him, ready for a hug, just like the Madonna hugging the Christchild in the icon that hing next to the door, with its little red candle in front, burning merrily, always. Once, a schoolfriend had come to play, and , seeing the Madonna, had asked him if he and his mother were _religiosniki_. Not knowing what those were, he had asked mamma, and she had shaken her head, sadly, and explained that sometimes people were banished to Siberia for believing in the God. This Hyoga could not understand, for wasn't God nice? Then she had explained, very quietly, that in the Sovjet Union, someone known as the Chairman tolerated no other God than himself. Then she had looked furtively over her shoulder, as if afraid that someone would listen, and had forbidden Hyoga ever to talk about this. But sometimes she would tell of other lands, where people lived free, and could go to places called churches, to worship the God, and there were many different churches,for people worshipped in different ways, and even different gods, and nobody minded. That was when she had first mentioned going to such a place, they would leave Siberia and the Sovjet Union for good, and be with Hyoga's father, who was a Good Man, she said, and live Happily Ever After. 

And Hyoga had believed her.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

The slight impatience in the man's voice chased the memory away. He was pointing at a flight of stone steps that led up the high sloping,earthen kerb of the lane, to a white-painted, slightly rusty ironwork garden gate. Beyond that, Hyoga could make out the shape of a log cabin.

"Is that where you live? In that izba?"

The man blinked in surprise, then grinned : " That is our garden shed. Izba, hmmm? That's a russian word.Are you russian…say, what is your name, anyway?"

"Hyoga…and I am russian, yes."

"Hyoga…" the man repeated, tasting the word, " That doesn't sound very russian, but then I'm no expert."

"It's japanese, meaning 'glacier'. I'm half japanese." Hyoga explained.

"I would never have guessed!" chuckled the man, looking meaningfully at Hyoga's blonde tatch." Well, Hyoga, I am quarter English, quarter German and half Belgian: in short, a nice european mixture."

"Belgian?" now it was Hyoga's turn to be puzzled.

"Citizen of this country extraordinaire!" laughed the man, with a comical bow, "But I suppose you have never heard of Belgium, like so many."

"I thought I was in France, because of the french you spoke earlier…." Hyoga confessed.

"Ouch! Don't say that in the presence of a full-blooded Belgian, and most certainly not a Fleming! They constitute the majority of our population, and speak flemish. "

"Flemish?"

"Kind of dutch."

"Dutch?"

The man threw his arms in the air in mock-despair. "I give up! If I have to explain the intricacies of the langage-question in this country, we'll be here till doomsday! Never mind. Let me introduce myself, rather. My name is Queer. Don't ask the obvious question."

Not being familiar enough with the english idiom to see the pun, Hyoga merely looked completely lost. 

Queer cast him an enigmatic smile. 

"Nevermind again. Actually, my full name is Quirinalis. Quirinalis Hubertus Field. My father has a passion for Ancient Rome, so he named all his children after the Seven Hills. In return, we call him Capitol, Cap for short, and Mother : Palatine, or Pal. Come and meet them."

Fairly dazed by all this information, Hyoga allowed himself to be led up the garden path (_note of the author : in a quite literal sense, of course!)_towards a square, whitepainted brick house . Though the curtains were drawn, welcoming light shone through the french windows on to the terrace in front, and Queer, sniffing the air, declared with satisfaction: " There's a fire burning. That will be cozy." He went to the left side of the house, halted before a large door, plunged his hands into his overcoat pockets, rummaged around in them, and produced a key. 

"Welcome to The Villa." said he, as he put the key in the lock and opened with a flourish. 

Hyoga hesitated. If he entered this house, and if ever Athena and her Saints learnt about him having been there, these people might get into trouble. Might? Surely! He was a renegade, and wanted, dead or alive, dead being the customary option, and everyone he so much as looked at was marked. 

"I cannot. They will find you. They will hurt you."

"Who : they?"

Hyoga made a helpless gesture.

"The Gods. They do not forgive."

Queer's amiable, ugly face grew hard.

"Neither do I forgive Gods who play around with people's lives. Nor will my parents forgive me for not inviting you in, and abandoning you to facing them on your ownsome. Come!"

"No!" cried Hyoga, "You have no idea! They will kill you!"

"All the more reason."

"No mere mortal can defeat a God."

"But he can damn well try, and should, for the sake of all mankind."

"Please…"

A door opened from the inside of the house, and a deep man's voice growled :

"In or out, make up your mind, but close the door! There's a nasty draft coming in."

The newcomer illustrated his words with a series of mighty sneeses.

"Hullo dad. Bless you. We were just about to enter." said Queer cheerfully, taking Hyoga by the arm and pulling him in. He closed the door.

"Thank you. " 

Queer's father was a man of, at a guess, fifty (though later he would turn out to be a very well preserved sixty-three), six feet tall, with a developing pot-belly which he managed to hide. He had a lean, pale face with a curly crop of short-cut ginger hair, balding at the crown, and it was obvious where Queer got the aquiline part of his nose from. Mr. Field was blowing it vigourously in a large white handkerchief, all the while keenly observing Hyoga with piercing green eyes.

"And your friend is…?"

"Hyoga…erm…Hyoga…?"

"Kido." supplied the Cygnus Saint, unwillingly. He never wanted to be associated with that family, but he had no other name to give : not his mother's, for mama had been mamma to him, he only knew her first name because other people had called her by it.

"Field. How do you do."

Hyoga stared at the outstretched hand, then at the smile with which it was being offered, and the whole world changed. This was what normal people did when they met! He took the hand and shook it, proudly.

__

"You cannot imagine what that moment meant for me." Hyoga would say, later, " It was ike waking up from a bad dream….no, that's not right, because the nightmare was real … more like…being released from prison."

"How would you know? " Shaina would ask, " You were never in prison." "Wasn't I? Weren't we all prisoners of our Sainthood, our faith, our Gods? The minute we put on the Cloth, we were incarcerated more securely than in a barred and guarded cell.It was a prison of the mind, and a single, simple handshake set me free."

Unaware of the momentous impact his ordinary gesture of welcome had had on the young russian, Mr. Field invited him further in. 

Stepping into the Field's living room was like stepping into Paradise. Not that it was such a beautiful room : 

On the contrary, it was rather sparely decorated, with worn furniture and threadbare carpets, but there _was _a fire burning merrily in a huge fireplace, a furry rug in front of it, and the light of the danncing flames shone on the faces of the three people seated there. From the broad, sofa, furthest from the fire, against the wall, rose a small, darkhaired woman, with a pleasantly-wrinkled, high-cheekboned face. Next to her sat a fragile-looking young woman, pale and thin, with long, silvery blond hair and such a sad, haunted look in her large, gray eyes that Hyoga averted his eyes quickly, and found himself staring a huge, curly-haired man, sitting in an equally huge, ancient-looking chair.

"Everyone, this is Hyoga. Allow me to present : my mother, my sister Vinimalis, Vinni for short…" a loud screech interrupted the introductions. "And ,of course , Sybille the Parrot, over there at the far end." said he, with casual wave at a battered bird-cage, in which a green parrot was making somersaults on a small trapeze, 

" She is supposed to be able to talk, but it's all incomprehensible gobbledy-gook that comes out,quite like the sooth-sayeress of old, so she is well-named."

Suddenly the rug sprouted legs, tail and a long, slobbery tongue. 

"Janiculus, our mastiff!" said Queer, not needing to stoop to pat the enormous dog's head, " She's one of the family, so she is named after the one hill of Rome that is not counted among the Seven."

So far he had pointedly ignored the huge man, who coughed to draw his attention. 

"We also have a couple of cats sloping around : Pulang, Rimau and Shan…"

The cough became a growl.

"Ah yes, and the Troll in the corner is Nick, the boy-next-door, who somehow always forgets which door is his."

"Troll yourself." said Nick, good-humouredly, and winked.

"Oh, don't listen to those two!" said Mrs. Field, coming at Hyoga hands outstretched, " They are competing for the 'Mister Cleverest Wise-Cracker Award', the silly things. Do make yourself at home, Hyoga. Have you eaten? 

No? I'll warm you up something."

She turned towards her son: " You were late, so we've already had supper, but there is soup and bread and cheese, oh, and some cold _rosbif_ and pickles." Then she turned back to Hyoga, and added, hesitatingly : " But would you not first like to freshen up? Queer will show you."

"Good idea! Come on Hyoga, upstairs. Follow me."

Queer led the young russian to a bathroom with light-blue mozaïc tiles.

"I hope you understand that what my mother was tactfully implying is that you smell."

"If you had been on the run for days, you'd smell too!" said Hyoga sharply, and then blushed and stammered an apology . His friend laughed, and clapped him on the shoulder : " Hey, I deserved that! Good man, you're beginning to react to people treating you in a high-handed manner. Warn me everytime I do so : it's incredibly bad attitude. Still, a scrub _will _do you good. Here, soap, brush, shampoo. Laundry basket is over there, and I'll get you some clean clothes of mine.Enjoy!"

"Wait! Queer…"

"Yes?"

Hyoga hesitated. He did not want to pry in these kind people's private affairs, but he couldn't ignore what his senses told him.He had to ask.

"Queer, what is wrong with your sister? She feels…so…dead inside."

A blank look came over the man's face, as if a wall had been drawn up.

"That is a most apt discription. Vinni suffers from depressions. She is currently in one. Strange that you noticed : we try to behave as normal as possible under the circumstances."

"I am a Saint. We…have senses that ordinary mortals do not."

The blank look was replaced by a very dark one.

"This ordinary mortal would thank you not to _fuck_ with people's minds. They are fragile enough as it is…and if I _ever _catch you…"

"I might be able to help…Saints have healing powers, though mine aren't so great as Mu's…It would be the least I could do to thank you for your kindness."

Queer stood still for a moment, and though he tried his best to lock out the feelings that emanated from the man, Hyoga could sense the hope in him rising. Then the wall went up again. Queer let out a deep sigh. 

"Thank you, for the offer. But no. If I know anything about it, and I should, after all these years, you're on the verge of depression yourself: you might do more harm than good. You don't need to feel obliged to us, either: kindness is too small a thing to thank me for."

"To one who had almost forgotten it existed, it means the world."

Queer fell silent again. Finally he spoke :" It would, wouldn't it? It seems I am a better man than I thought I was." He shook his head. "What a day : Saints, Gods, telepathy, Queer is really a nice guy, one lives and learns.

Whatever next. Well, Hyoga, let this be between ourselves, yes? Having a mindreader around is rather terrifying…now I am willing to trust you, but I don't think the others would. So don't mention it. And if it turns out I can't trust you…" he chuckled suddenly," I just realized that there is nothing a mere mortal can threaten you with. _Himmelherrgott_, I've been an impulsive idiot, letting someone so dangerous into my home."

Hyoga 's heart sank. "Please, please trust me. I have never had a friend like you…" he stopped, feeling cold all over, " No…that isn't true…I _had_ a friend, and I killed him. I cannot be trusted. I must go."

A wave of panic swept over him, and he made to rush out of the bathroom, but Queer caught him by the arm.

"Stay. I said I trusted you, and I do, now more than ever. You too are a better person than you take yourself for, Hyoga!" 

He let go, and, with a grin and a nod, left the Cygnus Saint to his ablutions. 

Half an hour later Hyoga sat, skin pink and glowing,dressed in faded jeans, green sweater and thick woolen socks, a clean bandage over his eye, cheese-sandwich in one hand and steaming mug of tomato soup in the other, in front of the fire. 

Mr. Field was taking a pipe out of his pocket, and filled it .

"My son tells me you are in trouble, and have an incredible story to tell. "

Queer, sitting on the sofa next to his mother, nodded: " Yes, it's a really, _really_ weird story, and I didn't believe it, untill he proved to me that all he said was true. But I didn't hear him out,and I don't know the end of it either, if there is an end. So don't interrupt, anyone. Let him speak." 

He gave another, encouraging nod at Hyoga.

The Ice Saint took a deep breath, and began:

"When the Forces of Evil gather, the Saints of Athena stand to defend Earth…."

_To be continued._

Note of the author: Why Brussels? Because one had best write about what one knows well,and let's be honest, who would have thought of Belgium as a hide-out? 

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is NOT a coïncidence. 

__


	10. Family : 2

Warning: in this chapter mr. Field gives his unreserved opinion of Japanese behavioural patterns. 

Political Correctness had not been invented yet back in 1986, and he wouldn't be anyhow.

2.

"'_…to our wonderful world full of light.'_ she said, and so we did return." finished Hyoga. 

There was a long silence. He wondered if he should continue, and tell them of his rebellious actions.

Then Nick started to clap.

"Bravo! You have surpassed yourself, Queer: this is your best performance yet. Where did you dig up such a convincing actor? Next time, try pulling the other one though: it's got bells on."

"Oh Ye of Little Faith!" cried Queer, "Hyoga, smite the Unbeliever! Go on, freeze his balls off."

"Quirinalis! Language! Don't be obscene." admonished mrs. Field sternly.

"Some other appendage then. Nothing vital anyway. His brain? "

"Alright, that's enough, son. A joke's a joke, but your obsessive attempts at comedy end up not being funny at all." said mr. Field, as he lit his pipe again.

"It's not a joke. It's deadly serious, dead being the operative word here! You heard the guy: he and his buddies are directly or indirectly responsible for all those thousands who died in the recent floods all over the world. 

What would the people in Bangladesh say if they knew, one wonders? Not that there are many left, with all of their country swept away…mind you, it did wonders for the problem of over-population…"

"Queer! That's enough, your father said!" cried mrs. Field. "Think of your poor aunt Josie and uncle Om who were evacuated just in time, and lost their house! I am…Oh!"

Hyoga, at loss what to do but desperate to be believed, held out his hands, half a meter apart, and created an ice-storm in-between.

Vimi gave a small cry. Mrs. Field threw her arms protectively around her daughter; Mr. Field dropped his pipe. 

"Holy fuck!" cried Nick, and shrank in his chair.

"Who is being obscene now?" asked Queer smugly. 

In her cage, Sybilla screeched and somersaulted; Janiculus jumped up, ran to sniff at mr. Fields pipe, and barked.

Queer snatched it up just before it started to burn a hole in the carpet, and handed it to his father.

"Can I say it, please? Can I?"

"'May I'?' corrected mr.Field, automatically.

"_May_ I say: 'I told you so'? There! I've said it already!"

"OK stop glowing." growled Nick, "What's it all about?"

"It's a trick." said Vimi, speaking up for the first time, in a hoarse, constricted voice: " It has to be. There are no such things as Gods, Saints, Cosmic Powers nor Sixth, Seventh or Eight senses. " 

She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"Oh, but there are, and _that's _the problem." said Queer, "Believe the evidence of your own eyes! The lad _has _powers of some kind. If that part of his story is true, why shouldn't the rest of it be?"

"Because it shouldn't!!!!" said Nick vehemently, " Greek gods walking about! Boys who can split the earth with their fists! An underwater realm…Hades! It's scientifically not possible."

"Oh, yes, Esq will have kittens when he hears about this." said Queer, with a generous amount of glee in his voice. He turned towards Hyoga and explained: " Esquilinus is our elder brother. He's a Theoretical Physicist doing all kinds of Einsteiny stuff, trying to sum up Life, the Universe and Everything in one single mathematical formula. He'll go spare!" 

"I'm still surprised at how we all took it in our stride. " mrs. Field would marvel, later, " Everything Hyoga told us was so…so mind-boggling! In retrospect, the whole idea of people becoming Gods and having warrior-saints to fight over the dominance of earth sounds like something out of a Fantasy novel, and a bad one at that."

"Well, it's no good saying pigs can't fly when you see them flapping in your front yard, my dear. Or in your living room, for that matter. Hyoga proved us that he had the powers he said he had, so we had to accept the rest of his story too. And once you have accepted that as truth, going spare may be an option, but hardly a constructive one. Keeping a cool head was the thing to do, and I'm glad we did it."

"I'm close to that myself." confessed mrs. Field, shaking her head and at the same time looking almost apologetically at Hyoga, " Even the parts in your story that are more or less credible are frankly disturbing!"

"I'll say!" cried Nick, " This Mitsubishi fellow now…"

"Mitsumasa." corrected Hyoga.

"Whatever. Kido. What a guy! Hell, I've heard of Simenon supposedly having had a thousand mistresses, and Dumas _père _scoring twohundred and fifty children, but that was a lifetime achievement, I mean, _one hundred _kids from ninety-nine different mothers in _one year _time…chapeau!"

"Coming from a connoisseur, that is praise indeed!" said Queer with a wicked, lopsided grin, " You'll have to work hard to equal him."

"It will be my pleasure." said Nick, smugly, "I'll even spare the time for giving you a few lessons in the fine art of …"

"Yes, yes, we all know that you are a _chaud lapin_. Incidentally, how is your little Becky? With her mother, this weekend?"

"Quirinalis." said mrs. Field quietly.

Queer looked suitably chastised. 

"Sorry , Nick, I know I crossed the line there. Your Becky is a great kid and it would be a shame if she didn't exist." Then he added, with a wink: And thanks for the offer, I might take you up on it!"

"Not before we've had a long talk, son." said mr. Field.

Hyoga looked from the one to the other and wondered if this was how ordinary people spoke.

Queer winked at him.

"We're were talking over your head there, were we not? That's just unmarried father Nick showing off his education and sexual prowess…stick with us a while longer and you'll get used to it."

"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" asked mr. Field ," Nick, you were about to make a point concerning this Kido…"

"Can't remember now."

"What I would like to know," said Vimi, " Is what happened to the mothers."

"So would I!" cried mrs. Field, " No mother would abandon her child like that. This Kido must have put tremendous pressure on those poor women to make them hand over their sons to an orphanage. Surely someone must have protested."

"Anywhere else someone surely would have." answered her husband, turning towards Hyoga, "That is the one part of your story I find totally believable: that your Goddess elected Japan as her base. In no other country would she find a combination of modern technology and total obedience. "

"I'll say! " cried Nick, "There was a delegation at a dentist's congress I attended last year…never saw so much kow-towing!"

"That would be 'kei-reiing'." corrected mr. Field, " The ordinary 30-degree bow."

"Cap…" began Queer.

"Alternatively you may execute the sai-keirei, the 45° bow. "

"Cap."

"And for the extreme cases, you can go on your knees and bang your head on the floor, performing the full 'dogeza'…"

"Cap!"

"But most Japanese settle for the 'shimatsusho', a standard letter of apology, that will excuse everything. 

According to our friend Hoolagan, long-time ambassador in Japan, even a rape-case will be dropped by the police if the rapist writes a shimatsusho to his victim, like it never happened."*

"Thank you, Cap, for that short introduction to Japanese morals - or lack thereof- and etiquette." said Queer, 

" Come to the point, _bitte._"

"That _is _the point. " said mr. Field, puffing on his newly lit pipe, "Bowing to authority is the Japanese way of life. _Any_ authority. Back in '45, they were bowing and shouting 'banzai!' to the American occupation troops as they marched through their streets, simply because they had proven themselves to be the strongest.** Little has changed in forty years, except that Hirohito is no longer _publicly_ acknowledged to be a God. All in all, the ideal place for a reincarnated Goddess to establish her rule of law. She will not be questioned should she decide to go public; and didn't you say she has this entire Japanese information network at her disposal?"

"That is my…Mitsumasa Kido's …the Graad Foundation…but it existed before he found Athena" answered Hyoga, hesitatingly. It rather gratified him to hear his own thoughts about the Japanese spoken so openly here, but there was still a small part of him feeling loyalty towards the man who was, after all, his father.

"But still he found her, right, Hyoga?" asked Queer, " Coo, what a coincidence: the one man who had the means _and _the sons to support her."

" Actually…it has always been assumed that it was Zeus who guided my…Mitsumasa's steps, perhaps even inhabited his body for a while, a s Poseidon did with Julian Solo…"said Hyoga with some difficulty. 

Both mrs. Field and her daughter looked shocked, Nick growled, and Queer made a strangled noise.

"That is _totally _immoral."

"The Greek gods never were ones for morality." said mr. Field calmly, " And Zeus least of all. I wouldn't put it past him to take over that Kido in order to conceive all those children for his own ends. "

"Hubert…" cautioned mrs. Field, " You are talking about the boy's father."

"I don't care." said Hyoga, with sudden vehemence, " I've always hated Kido, and Zeus even more. Even if either of them is my father, I don't care! May they _both_ rot in hell!"

Mrs. Field stood up, and went over to the young Russian, taking his hands.

"Darling, you mustn't say that. If your father's mind was taken over, he is as much a victim as any of you, and if there still was part of him aware of what was happening, he must have suffered greatly."

"But if he wasn't? What if he freely allowed Zeus in? Think of all the power it gave him, being the Guardian of Athena…if he hadn't died, he would be the most powerful man on earth now. Saori-Athena adored her 'grandfather', and would have complied with his every wish. "

"Dying probably wasn't something he had banked on, then" said Queer. "But sacrificing one's own children is perfectly acceptable god-like behaviour. Didn't Zeus eat his new-borns? No, wait, correction, that was Chronos.

Zeus just ate Athena, or her mother, I don't quite remember…anyway, she was birthed from his head. Ghoulish.

But then so is this whole business. Gods Galore! Child soldiers with phenomenal powers raised to kick the crap out of each other every time the Gods reincarnate from their 200-year nap…"

"Wow, we're really heading into the Twilight Zone here." said Nick, shaking his shaggy head, "I mean, you're saying…what? That you are a son of Zeus? Does that make you a demi-god or something, Hyoga?"

"If I wasn't one already by birth, I have since become one by reaching the Eight' Sense to enter the realm of Hades." 

"That's it, we're _in_ the zone!" cried Nick, throwing his arms in the air. Then he grinned and chanted: "Deebah-deebah, deebah-deebah, deebah…"

Hyoga, who had never watched television in his life and therefore would not recognise a sixties cult-series if he saw one, much less it's opening tune, wondered if this was normal behaviour for the man, or that he had just gone mad.

"You guys make me sick!" cried Vimi, with such sudden vehemence that it made Hyoga jump and stare: the young woman looked so frail, breakable like one of those egg-shell porcelain teacups Athena _("No, that was Saori.")_ drank out of, that it seemed almost impossible for her to have such fierceness inside. Yet somehow underneath her outward weakness he could guess the great inner strength and anger, welling up from behind that vast empty nothingness that was depression surrounding the core of her being.

"Making jokes and talking about it like it was some interesting problem for you to analyse and solve! Manipulating people like puppets is immoral and cruel and something should be done about it!"

"I couldn't agree with you more." said mr. Field, "Which is why we first have to calmly analyse the problem first. For one thing, we need more information. These training camps now…"

He took a puff at his pipe, found it had gone out, went over to the fireplace and proceeded to empty it by knocking it upside down against the mantelpiece. Ashes slowly drifted down into the fireplace and on the carpet.

"Use the ashtray, dear." said mrs. Field in the long-suffering voice of someone who has told a dozen times, and handed him one. Looking a little sheepishly, her husband took the offered tray and emptied his pipe, then went on to clean and refill it as he continued: " Somewhere along the line someone must begin to ask questions. You can stop people from bodily going in, but there are such things as spy-satellites. This Sanctuary in Greece for instance and what's happening there must show up on somebody's screen. How do they manage to evade detection?"

"Simple enough. All they have to do is take control of the satellites in question and replace the real image with an innocuous faked one. And if anybody notices there's something wrong, hell, they are telepaths, no? Wipe the records, wipe the mind, easy as pie. Creepy." said Queer.

"Creepy!" cried Vimi, "It's criminal and plain evil, torturing people like that."

"Mind-wiping, Vimi, not quite the same thing."

"Torture." repeated the young woman with conviction, " Not being master of your own self: imagine the agony of it…."she shuddered suddenly, "I don't have to imagine. I know. "

Mrs. Field hugged her daughter hard.

"We shall put a stop to it." she said, firmly.

Hyoga's mouth fell open.

"You don't know what you are talking about! You can't fight the Gods: they can kill you in the blink of an eye! "

"Some have already tried." growled Nick, "Sounds like a being caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea kind of situation. Either we resist and are destroyed, or we accept the rule of these Gods, and whenever they get into another one of their little family-quarrels on who is to rule, we are destroyed anyway. Lovely. Well, I don't know about you, but if we have to go down, I'd rather go down fighting."

"My hero." Said Queer, "And what will you threaten them with, your dentist's drill?"

"We have to do something!" said Vimi.

"Or die trying." said Queer cheerfully. 

"Mad." whispered Hyoga, shaking his head and staring at each of them with his one eye wide with terror, " You are all quite mad. One doesn't oppose the Gods: I should know, I've tried. My brothers and I barely came out of those wars alive…" he swallowed, "Some didn't. They are all bound to Athena now, hearts, minds and souls. I tried to resist, and now I am a renegade, marked for death. And so will all of you be, when They find out you have sheltered me! I've put you all in danger!"

He jumped to his feet so suddenly that the half-empty beaker he had been holding in his lap fell on the ground, leaving a trail of tomato soup as it rolled along. With a joyful bark Janiculus the dog leaped at it and started to lick both the floor and the insides of the cup.

Red with embarrassment, the Ice Saint bent down to picks up the object. Dogslobber was dripping down its sides, and Janiculus, eyes full of reproach, went to sit on her haunches in front of him, expectantly banging her tail on the ground. Hyoga didn't know whether to laugh or to run. What he really wanted was to cry.

__

"You were such a portrait of misery then." Queer would say, " Just looking at you would have decided us, even if you had told us nothing. And, since you did, we were committed."

"I still am not sure whether you were incredibly brave or just insane."

"Then it is the kind of insanity that prevails against all odds. Anyway, you were not the only the only one to have second thoughts about Athena. I came in late in the Godgame, having followed the false Pope first, and then I only did it because of Seiya…I never imagined he would be the price I had to pay for my loyalty. It made me question Athena's rule and her justification for it…and I did not like the answers I was getting when I snooped around a bit, behind the fair facade she put on. But I had no one to turn to, so I ran…you were lucky, Hyoga, to have found such staunch supporters in the Fields."

"It's typical, isn't it? We all had similar feelings, but not a single one of us dared to share them. I felt sure that, because of my previous record, They were keeping an eye on me, just in case I might go 'bad' again, so I never spoke of my suspicions to anyone. I thought I couldn't trust anyone: except you, little brother, but I was afraid to drag you into it."

"Ikki, there is such a thing as being overprotective. If only you had said…we would have talked, and I would have told you about how Hyoga felt before he ran, and then we would not have stood alone."

"But then again, I would not have met the Family."

Mister Field reached over and took the beaker from Hyoga's hands. 

"You had better tell us the whole story, lad. Don't leave anything out, so that we fully know what we're up against!"

"I can't, please…you have no idea…absolutely no idea!"

"Seeing you so frightened, I begin to have a pretty clear idea by now."

Hyoga took a deep breath. He _was_ frightened. Not for himself, for he had never feared for himself, never having cared enough about his own life; but now there were these people, whose lives he had put at risk.

"Very well. " he said, trying to control the tremor in his voice, " I will tell. And then you will let me go, and forget. "

To be continued

* and ** authentic

__


	11. Family : 3

3.

"A thirteen-year old girl forced to go strip-dancing in a bar!" cried out mrs. Field, "What kind of system allows that?!"

The continuation of Hyoga's adventures had been met with several degrees of outrage.

"Children, especially orphans, should by rights be among the most protected…"

"I'll say!" said Nick, "I get all kinds of social workers harassing me about my own kid. One would imagine that in orphanages, children are even more watched over. I know government institutions aren't always up to par, but surely they wouldn't let an underage kid leave just like that."

"Erm…I don't think the government had anything to do with the 'Children of the Star' orphanage. It belonged to the Graad Foundation." said Hyoga.

"Apparently, that Foundation is a law unto itself, along with Kido…hmmm, I'm sure I heard that name before." said mr. Field pensively, " Yes, of course! A Kido was chief advisor to the emperor during the War. * Possibly the same man, or someone from the same family…Japanese are big on family." He looked at his watch. "Ten-twenty. That makes it nine-twenty in England, I can still give Hoolahan a call. This Graad Foundation needs investigating."

"You are not serious!" Hyoga burst out, " After all I told you you still cannot see the danger!"

"On the contrary, I'm extremely aware of it." answered mr. Field gravely, "Recent events have shown that this state of affairs simply cannot continue. Your Gods are a threat to the peace and security of all Mankind. It's bad enough that we fight among ourselves; we don't have to be caught between the warring factions in the Greek Pantheon. Now I realise that I may not be able to do much about those Gods themselves, but I can tackle the human element in it. Graad for one, that Greek village that serves Sanctuary for another…"

"Slaves." muttered Vimi angrily, " Psyched into obedience for their entire life…"

"Precisely." said mr. Field, " And yet they are Greek citizens, subject to the Greek Constitution. They have the right of protection by their own government, not to mention basic Human Rights of which Freedom of Movement is only one, and guaranteed too by the European Community since Greece became a member state.

Anyway, for the moment we should concentrate on Graad, and those poor girls. I'm sure it is just as illegal for thirteen-year olds to perform lewd dances in Japan as it is over here, and when the public Opinion hears about the horrors the orphaned boys were involved in, I doubt if the authorities will back Graad for much longer"

"Oh, Public Opinion can be easily manipulated." said Queer, " I remember now reading about that 'Galactic Contest' last year; and how very enthusiastic people were, despite the fact that none of the contestants had reached legal majority. Little Romanian gymnasts at the Olympics are one thing, but twelve-year old gladiators… and nobody protested! If that's Public Opinion, you can keep it. Give them bread and plays, and they'll lap up anything."

"Well, there are still the international Child Welfare Organisations like UNICEF." said mrs. Field. "I'll contact the Brussels branch tomorrow morning. They should look into the goings-on of Graad, which I'm sure are all highly illicit, and take legal action."

"For my part, I'll make that call, and then one to Freddie Mountjoy. " said mr. Field, " There's bound to be a file on Graad at the Office."

"Hurrah for the 'Old Boys' Network! " cried Queer, " I love it when you go all MI6 James Bondy, Cap."

Mr Field sighed. 

"How many times do I have to tell you? There is no such thing as MI6, although that is what the SIS is usually referred to in popular fiction. And I was never a James Bond."

"But you _were _trained to be one, to be sent off to the Far East during the war as a fake German officer to spy on the Japs." objected Queer, and quickly turned to the bewildered Hyoga to explain: 

"Cap's half-German, so he refused to fight his mother's people when his number came up. But since he was born in Malaya - Grandfather ran a plantation near Kuala Lumpur - and thus spoke fluent malayan as well as german _and _having a smattering of japanese, he got fished up from basic training by the Special Service…"

"…and then the war ended before ever I was sent out. " said mr. Field, " My son is determined to make a hero out of me. Very gratifying to a parent, yet not remotely true. I spent my tour of duty in the Far East debriefing POW's and later in Nuremberg interpreting at the Trials: I was never even involved in the War, and I left the Service as soon as possible. Nevertheless, I do keep contact with my old friends from way back, including those who still work at the Office." ("That is in-speak for 'Secret Service'" Queer whispered into Hyoga's ear) "This said, it's ten thirty, I _really _have to make those phone-calls now. "

He left the room in a hurry. 

"I suppose I'd better leave as well." said Nick, rising from his chair that creaked with the weight being lifted from it. Sybilla, whose cage stood right behind it, screeched.

"Parrot's disease to you, dratted bird." growled the big man, "Now then, Hyoga…" he eyed the young Russian from under his bushy eyebrows, " You've given me much to think about. I just hope that when I wake up tomorrow morning it will all turn out to be a bad dream. Still, if it doesn't…" he trailed off, then shrugged: 

" Consider me in, on whatever Cap is brewing up. I used to be a happy agnostic…but I feel myself turning into a rabid atheist with your bloodthirsty Gods."

"They are _not_ my Gods." replied Hyoga, with feeling, "I only ever served Athena, and she is not truly bloodthirsty; she _does_ try to defend Earth against her fellows as best as she may. It's not her fault that the other side wages war all the time…" he trailed off, realising that he was taking the defence of the woman and the servitude he had so utterly and vociferously rejected earlier.

Nick raised a bushy eyebrow that disappeared up into his curly locks. 

"Is that so? That's not how you told it just now. When has she ever tried diplomacy first? Of course, if you keep breeding Saints, good for nothing but fighting, a fight is what you'll get. Incidentally, did she always wait until the very last before she donned her own armour and got into action herself?"

Not waiting for an answer, he bend over Vimi, kissed her surprisingly gently for such a big man, whispering: "Take care now, love." 

She merely nodded. It seemed as if the energy she had shown in indignation had been drained and spend; and she was slowly sinking back into the quagmire of depression.

Hyoga marvelled at the couple. The man, a self-confessed philanderer, was obviously in love with the girl, though she was unattractive and very ill indeed, and showed his affection openly in front of her parents, who did not seem to mind at all. This was a very strange family indeed.

"_But then, what do I know of family?"_

"I'll let you out, Nick." said mrs. Field.

Janiculus wagged politely as the two passed into the hall. Hyoga could hear them talking softly in a language he did not understand. He felt numb. These people were beyond his comprehension. They had taken him in, and at once his problem had become theirs. They cared. 

"That is because we are nice people, Hyoga. Nice, responsible people. Caring and helping is what nice responsible people do. Saving the world in the process is just an added responsibility."

"You could all have been killed!"

"Yes, well, there are always slight drawbacks in these cases. But it turned out aright, didn't it?"

"Were you even aware of the danger?"

"Naturally, yet if Humanity had thought of the dangers, it would never have climbed out of the tree. It would never have crawled out of the water to climb into the tree! Anyway, you too faced grave peril."

"But I had nothing to lose."

"What about your life?"

Hyoga thought about his life and losing it, as he stood and waited for mrs. Field's return.

His own death was something he could very well - well, obviously not _live_ with, but it would not bother him as such. There had been times he had wished for it. Yet the death of his five (six, if you counted the dog) wonderful new friends was just too much to contemplate. 

__

"I'll not allow any of them to come to harm...not even the parrot! I'll die first…no, I'll LIVE for them, rather! Dying is the Saint's way. Seiya died. The Ultimate Sacrifice, and what did it avail us? Only the prospect of another battle. There should be…there MUST be another way of sorting out our differences with each other, without fighting or dying. Shun certainly would advocate that!"

He felt a stab of guilt thinking of Shun. Though he was not all that protective of his younger halfbrother (not like Ikki whose former crimes made him overcompensate for the pain he had caused the Andromeda Saint) he still was the only one Hyoga felt he could relate to, and the only one he worried about. The death of Seiya had left him devastated, because he admired the Pegasus Saint's lust for life that he alone had had. If either Shiryu or Ikki had died, he would have mourned for them. But for Shun, he would have suffered most, for Shun was Good. 

It contrasted horribly with the Evil he recognised within himself, as he did in every other Saint. Not even Shiryu was exempt: there was an intransigence within the Dragon that made him hard and unforgiving at times; it was probably what had led to his break-up with Sunrei. None of this hardness existed in Shun.

__

"True, he does posses an amazing resilience. He is not the softie we all took him for. How strange to have such a gentle soul, and yet such strength…"

A cat, a brown tabby, slipped in through the half-open door. As soon as she saw Hyoga, she halted her stride, eyed him suspiciously with one paw still in the air, decided he was unfamiliar and therefore too menacing for comfort, turned, and tailed it to the kitchen.

"She'll want her milk-before-bed. " said Vimi. "I'll give it to her." she rose, picked up Hyoga's beaker her mother had put on a side-table, and headed after the cat.

"Hot cocoa before bed for all of us! " cried Queer, "Do you like cocoa, Hyoga? "

"Erm…"

"Hot milk and chocolate."

"I know what it is." said Hyoga, slightly miffed. The man should not think that because he had been raised as a Saint he was totally ignorant. " I was going to say that I am not staying, for your own sake. As long as I remain here, there is threat…"

"Where there's life, there is threat!" said Queer with a grin, "It's one way to explain Darwin. And you had better explain yourself to Pal: she won't dream of turning you out, and you had better not cross her without a convincing argument at hand. "

"Did I hear you mention me?" asked mrs. Field, entering.

"Hyoga wants to leave too, Pal."

"Surely not! I was just about to put sheets on the bed in the guestroom. Oh, and Queer, Annie has washed and ironed today, so there is a fresh pair of pyjamas of yours Hyoga can borrow. Cocoa? Good, you children have a cup, I think we'll all need some help to sleep tonight…or would you rather have milk with honey, dear? You've only had some sandwiches and soup. Are you sure that was enough? I usually feel a bit peckish myself at night, I could bring up a tray. Something light…a little white cheese, perhaps, or a banana?"

Hyoga swallowed the growing lump in his troath, opened his mouth to answer, but only a sob came out. Something trickled over his right cheek. A tear. He wiped it off. More followed. He was crying.

He had not cried since his mother died. He had not cried for his master, or Isaak, or Seiya.

His left eye began to drip too, now, wetting the bandage. Huge, salty tears rolled down, clung to his chin for an instant, then dripped on his borrowed shirt. To his horror, his nose went watery too.

His knees felt all jittery, so he sat down, head bowed and hands buried in his hair, hoping they would not see how he fought for control. It did not work. He could neither stop the tears nor the sobs that came soon after. 

Mrs Field and her son exchanged looks, and the young man mouthed: " I'll take charge of the bed, you of him."

And stepped out. Hyoga could hear him mounting upstairs: he was alone now with mrs.Field. 

The dam broke. All the defences he had so carefully build up over the years went to pieces, and he with it.

Mrs. Filed sat next to him and drew him close.

"Don't…h…how can you bear touching me!" he hiccuped, "I do nothing b…but e…evil things, I…I k…ill people and that's ba-aaad!!!!"

He collapsed in mrs. Fields arms, the hardened fifteen-year old killer Saint persona swept away by the flood of tears, exposing the sensitive eight-year old who had lost his mamma still residing deep within the recesses of his being. And she held him and rocked him like only a mother can and let him cry. 

He cried and cried until he had no more tears left, and then he cried some more. 

Finally, _finally _he was allowed to give in to feeling. The hard bubble of pain that had been growing inside until it blotted out all other emotions had burst, and he screamed.

"MAMAAAAA!!!!"

"It's alright, darling. It's alright. I'm here."

No, it was not alright. This was not his mama holding him, it was Queer's mama, and he was blubbering all over her. He drew back and wiped his nose and face on his sleeve, realising too late that it wasn't his. Then he saw that the front of mrs. Fields elegant blouse was all covered in snot and wet and he wanted to die. 

"It's alright, darling." she repeated, as she gently stroked away the strands of hair that were plastered all over his face, "You have been such a very brave young man for such a very long time. You should allow yourself some time to be a child again. And everyone's entitled to cry."

"Tissue." said a voice -Vimi's- behind them. 

Still brushing Hyoga's tears away, mrs. Field took the paper handkerchief offered, and held it to his nose.

"Blow." 

He did, and then Vimi handed him another, together with a steaming cup of cocoa.

Hot chocolate.

It had always been his birthday treat: to get it, mama had had to go all the way to the big city, and cue for hours . Sometimes, she was too late, and there would be no more chocolate left. Then she would bargain for in on the black market, and would come home so very late that he, though determined each time to wait up for her, had nodded off his cheek stuck against the cold window where he had his lookout post.

But she always came home with a piece of dark, bitter chocolate. 

She would ground it in a mortar with some sugar, and then put it in the white porcelain cup with its golden rim that was her only valuable possession together with her rosary - though she would always say that Hyoga was more precious to her than either of them. Carefully, continuously stirring with a longhandled wooden spoon, she would pour in the warm milk (another thing she had cued for hours for) slowly, slowly, 'till it almost brimmed over. Together they would blow the steam away, and then mama would lift the cup to his lips for a first delicious sip. He always wanted for her to have the second one, and she always protested that it was his birthday treat, but he would insist and she would take the tiniest of sips, and so they would go on, till there was only a layer of molten chocolate left, which he would spoon out.

The memory made him feel like crying all over again, so he did. Then he blew his nose loudly in the tissues mrs. Field kept handing him. In a vain attempt to hide his embarrassment he put the cup to his lips.

"Careful: hot. Better take it up with you. I'm turning in too; goodnight, mum." said Vimi.

"Goodnight, darling. Shall I come later, after I've settled Hyoga for the night?"

"Hmmm." replied the young woman vaguely.

Only the smallest of sighs betrayed that mrs. Field had worries of her own.

"I'll come then. We'll talk."

Vimi left. Mrs Field sighed again, sadly.

Hyoga let his head droop again. _"I've no right to impose upon these people. They have already done more for me than anyone else since mama died…"_

Then his head went up, and he straightened his shoulders. _"There is only one way to thank them, and that is to fight and win against the Gods…even if that includes Athena!"_

All his doubts and fears were gone: the Fields, with their kind friendship, had given him purpose. It was as if he had been asleep and dreaming all this time, but now he was wide-awake. These people were what he wanted to be: independent, with a mind of their own, and free! He, too would be free. 

Or, as Queer put it, die trying.

Something warm and heavy landed on his knee. 

"Shoo, Janiculus." said mrs. Field, and the big mastiff lifted his head from where he had been looking mournfully (and longingly) at Hyoga's cup of cocoa.

The young Russian drank from it, and promptly got hiccups.

"I get those too, whenever I drink something that is still too hot." said Queer, making his reappearance through a side door in the part of the living room that served as library, and contained more books than Hyoga had seen in his entire life, stacked on shelves that reached up to the high ceiling, covering a wall and a half.

"'Cully, time for walkies!" said the man, slapping his thigh. He was, of course, addressing the dog, who got up with a short, joyful bark.

"I'll lock up, mum. Sleep well."

"I'll have things to talk over with your father first. Come Hyoga, I'll show you your room."

The Ice Saint quickly put the mug on the side table, rose and performed the most beautiful of sai-keirei's. 

"Please, madam, you are most kind, but you do not comprehend…."

"She does, Hyoga, she does indeed!" said Queer, while clipping a leash onto Janiculus' collar, " I presume you are referring to the dangers involved in helping you. That never stopped her. Cap may not be a hero, but Pal's a regular heroine! She was living in occupied Belgium during WW II, and helped persecuted Jews to false passports…"

"Only once!" protested mrs. Field. " And only Jews I happened to know. Poor Rachel Balsam, with her beautiful long raven plaits…she was in my year, and when all the Jews were forced to were the yellow star, we all came to school wearing one, but a teacher with nazi symphaties complained and we were made to take it off. And Redlich, I shall never forget his face when he saw what age I had given him on his false passport, forty, though he looked at least sixty, when he was only twenty-eight, but he had been on the run from Nazi persecution for so long…both disappeared and never came back. I would have done more if I had known the truth about Auschwitz. I cried for three days when I saw the pictures, after the Liberation. I should have done more."

"Rachel and Redlich, that makes twice, and once is enough to be shot for it, if you get caught." said Queer. " Or sent to a concentration camp yourself. Being shot is the more pleasant option. And so many more did nothing at all"

"Jews? Auschwitz? Concentration camp?"

Mrs. Field and her son exchanged glances.

"He's never heard of them. Why am I not surprised?"

Queer went over to one of the bookcases and took out a volume. He flipped through it till he found the right page, then handed it to Hyoga. 

"There." he said, "There. The inside of a WWII Nazi concentration camp. Jews were sent there in wagonloads, like cattle, and countless others: Romany, political opponents to the regime, homosexuals…. Auschwitz was one of the extermination camps. There they gassed Jews, six million of them, and Romany…old people, women, children…and where were you Saints? Even if your Gods were napping, and you didn't want to meddle openly in our own wars, why wouldn't save the innocent? Don't get me started on the horrors of other totalitarian regimes, right and left. The re-education camps in China? The Gulag? Does that ring a bell at least?"

"Hush, Queer." Said mrs. Field soothingly.

"No, not _hush_. " said her son, passionately, " It's because people hush that these things happened…and continue to happen."

Hyoga stared at the page that showed photographs of emaciated people in prison dress, behind barbed wire, and corpses, piles upon piles of corpses…and the face of a little girl wearing a scarf, staring , uncomprehendingly, scared.

He gagged.

"Yes, it does make one want to throw up. Humanity _is_ evil. But do you know what is even more evil? That is to sit back and let evil happen." 

"Queer. Don't blame the boy. He did not know. "

"I'm not blaming him. I'm just giving him one more reason to fight his former masters. Their notorious absence from the scene during the most horrible period of Human History was the first thing that crossed my mind when he told us about them. So I repeat: what good are they, if they won't save innocent people?"

"I…I am so sorry…"

"Sorry is not good enough. But you don't have to be: I want sorry from your Athena. _That _is why I'll help you, Hyoga. I'm committed now. We Fields - and Brandts- (he gave a bow towards his mother) may not go out of our way to do our civic duty, but when it comes _our _way, like _hell_ we do it! Because one thing is for certain: none of us want to live in a world with those Gods."

The man drew a deep breath, and suddenly grinned: "_Ah, la belle Phrase Immortelle, je l'ai bien sorti, là ! _I'd do a 'we'll fight them on the beaches' speech, but I lack the cigar. Anyway, I'm going, or Cully will pee on the carpet."

"What has a cigar to do with it?" asked the bewildered Hyoga as Queer wrapped the leash round his hand and clicked his tongue at the patiently waiting dog.

"Winston Churchill. Great cigar smoker, made rousing speeches. Kept the Brits on fighting 'till the Yanks and the Russians came into the war…the latter finally on the allied side…sorry Hyoga, you are Russian, but they had joined the nazis first…hell, I'm not going to tell you the whole history of WW II right now, or the carpet will really suffer. Goodnight! I'll see you in the morning."

""And we will see you in the morning, will we not, Hyoga?" said mrs. Field gently as she took his face between her hands, " Think not on what my son has told you. Let your troubles rest for the night. You're home now. "

And later, when Hyoga sank gratefully under the covers of a bed - a _real_ bed - wearing freshly smelling red-and-white striped pyjamas , he knew that to be true.

To be continued.

* = Authentic. So is mrs. Field's involvement in saving Jews during WWII. So is her modesty about it.

Mr. Field's training and post-war activities however are imaginary. 

Author's note: Unlike the other 'real' people in this story, Rachel Balsam and Redlich are mentioned by their true names. Rachel, however, did not live in Belgium nor went to school with Mrs. Field. She perished in the Shoah as did Redlich, whose wife and child, fortunately, were saved.

Should anyone of their family read this story, know that they are remembered still

__ __


	12. Family : 4

4.

A moonbeam crept over the floor and across the large desk to settle full on the portrait hanging on the wall.

An aged, white-bearded, broadshouldered and grimlooking man in traditional costume stared out of its frame with narrowed slanting eyes.

"Is that him?"

"Yes. The Bastard."

Something - someone- stirred in the shadows of the darkened room.

"Don't."

"Why not? It is not even a very good painting."

"Because if you so much as touch it, you will trigger all sorts of alarms."

"Oh."

A figure moved forward to face the picture, into the puddle of light. It shone on silver metal, caressing feminine curves and illuminating a stark white mask surrounded by raven locks.

"Are you sure?"

The other one drew near: a man, this one, clad in silver armour too, a horned headband adorning his brow. 

"Of course I'm sure. You had me sweep the mind of that Major-domo, didn't you? He was quite explicit as to the security system." 

He made a face: " That was not the only thing he was explicit about. One of the new kids in training will be 'visited' tonight. One of the weaker ones of course, who won't make it anyway. That Tatsumi fellow is quite careful to pick out those only, not the kids who once made Saints might come back with a vengeance. Prides himself on having an 'eye' for it too. Mind you…" he slid a hand in his companion's metal slip, lecherously squeezing her well-rounded buttocks, "…he has given me some ideas for a 'visitation' of my own. I'm in the mood." 

He nuzzled her hair and licked the nape of her neck.

She wriggled out of his grasp.

"I'm not. I have unfinished business with Kido."

"Why do you hate him? You've never met the man."

She made no answer, but closed in on the painting, raising her hand. Her nails, sharp and talon like, glittered menacingly.

"Because of Seiya? That's it, isn't it? You love him still."

She swivelled to face him.

"We had an agreement. " she hissed, " You get from me what you want, I get from you what _I _want, and you _will not mention Seiya ever again!"_

He grinned.

"I'm right, aren't I? You _do_ still love him. I don't mind: a corpse is no competition. Only don't shred the picture, that would be rather like leaving a signature. Everyone knows that the Opiuchus Saint uses her claws at the drop of a hat. Any hat." He grinned again, " I like that."

"You might get It." she answered, one sharp nail tracing his cheek. A little blood welled up. She sucked it off her finger suggestively.

"But first I want information. Behind the portrait, you said. So how do we turn off that alarm?"

Asterion - for of course it was he- went to the desk and slipped underneath. He passed his hands over the silky mahogany of the wood and found embedded in it, just were he expected it to be, a hidden button. 

He pushed it.

"Now you may touch, Shaina."

The Opiuchus Saint took hold of the picture and pulled it of the wall. Behind it, as large as the painting itself, was the door of a safe. 

Asterion flicked open a small box in the middle of it, revealing a keyboard. He tapped in a code.

The safe swung open.

"Now what?"

"You tell me, Telepath. I want the files on the Bronze Saints."

"Nothing could be easier. It's all on 'floppy'."

"Come again?"

Asterion scratched is head, suddenly a little sheepishly.

"I'm not sure if that's the right word; I don't know any Japanese and Tatsumi has little Greek. I have to be creative in interpreting his thoughts, working with the images he conjures up mostly, and matching the words to them. It's something to do with computers. Those things."

He pointed at a pile of flat, square disks lying on the third shelf of the safe.

"Great." said Shaina in disgust. "'Nothing could be easier', eh? I was prepared for the worst, namely documents in Japanese only. I know even _less _about computers. You?"

"No, but I 'remember' what Tatsumi knows about it. Your initial plan was to copy the documents we'd find, right? I can do the same with these floppies. There is a computer on the desk. "

"Are you sure you can 'remember' the motions correctly? I hear one can accidentally wipe those things clean of all contents…"

"No problem. I was the late Pope's best interrogator: my mind is trained for this kind of thing. I've mastered several combat techniques by telepathy alone!"

"Very well. Do it. I'll go through the safe, in case there is anything else of interest."

There was little. Papers she couldn't read, jewellery she didn't care for, a photograph album of Mitsumasa Kido and Saori as a child, which she almost _threw_ back in. Then she discovered a couple of thin, smallsized rectangular booklets. One had Japanese characters on it, yet the other…

"Russian!!"

"Eh? What? What?!"

Asterion had been concentrating so hard on his job of copying that he jumped at the girl's exclamation.

"Letters. Not Japanese, Russian. Passports, I think."

"What's that when it's at home?" asked the Canes Venatici Saint, who was Sanctuary born and bred and had therefore never seen a legal document in his life, whereas Shaina still had memories of her life, before, in Italy.

"Identity papers one needs to travel with. See?"

She showed him the small photograph of a blond, blue eyed young woman.

He whistled appreciatively.

"Nice chick"

"Dead chick. Hyoga's mother, at an educated guess."

"I thought she went down with a ship or something. So how come her passport is here?"

"Good question. One I will have answered before long. Have you done?"

"All loaded on these." 

He held up a couple of disks.

"Luckily there was a box full of empty ones. Let's hope their disappearance won't be noticed. We can put the originals back. Are you taking the passports?"

"Perhaps I'd better. The other one is Seika's, Seiya's sister. Hey! Have a look: she travelled to Greece with it!"

Asterion peered into the booklet interestedly.

"How can you tell?"

"It's stamped in Greek, with a date. 21 October 1982. If I remember correctly, that was when she disappeared from the orphanage…about two years after Seiya was sent to the Sanctuary. Why, according to her birth-date and the date this passport was issued, she got it almost on the day she turned 16!"

"How would you know, if it's a Japanese passport."

"That kind of information is written in Latin characters." said Shaina irritably, "Border officials in foreign countries have to be able to read the document. Don't ask stupid questions if you can avoid it. I suppose that, once 16, Seika could obtain a passport without authorisation from parents or, in her case, guardians. 

With it, she could travel legally and search for Seiya. That's how she managed to turn up halfway across the world near Sanctuary!"

"Where the Guards picked her up and brought her before me: I remember now. I performed a mindblock on her: standard procedure with trespassers."

"And, surprise surprise, her passport turns up here. Of course, the Pope confiscated it and then Athena kept it hid from Seiya: she _knew_ ever since she took over that his sister was in Rodorio, but never let on: she'd lose him if she had. The bitch."

"You are talking about your Goddess, you know."

"When did you get religion?"

He laughed.

"Never! I'm on the side of the winner, which happens to be Athena…for the moment. But I know that, once I have outlived my usefulness, she'll drop me."

"Have you read her mind too?"

The Canes Venatici Saint shook his head ruefully. 

"She's too powerful even for me to do that without notice. I can block her, but that's about all."

"Well, you can block her now. Let's put the place back in order and teleport out of here."

Five minutes later, the room was empty again.

Miles from there, high in the mountains of Tibet, two figures shimmered in the mist, then took form. 

"Why here?" asked Asterion, frowning at the dismal surroundings.

"Would anyone look for two live Saints in the Saint's graveyard?"

"I told you, I blocked Athena out. Even if she had been tapping into the Big Will, she would not have noticed our passing."

He kicked at a nearby skull. Its Cloth shattered to pieces and dust.

"I can think of a better place to be now." he said, slipping his arms around her, " You: me: now. I did what you asked. I want my due."

She made to remove her mask.

"Leave it. For what I have in mind I don't need to see your face."

"Hmmm…mio _cazzo cretino_…"she muttered, leaning into his embrace, allowing parts of her Cloth to drop.

"I don't know what that means but I love it when you speak Italian, you sexy thing."

She laughed.

It was the last thing he heard.

Shaina removed her mask. 

"Idiot. I told you: you would get the claw. That's what happens when you don't bother to learn foreign languages." 

She laughed again, high and harsh.

"For all your telepathy you never knew what I was truly thinking…in Italian! But you were too dangerous to be allowed to live; and your many crimes condemned you to death."

She smiled bitterly, and stared at her bloodied hands.

"Who shall condemn me, I wonder?"

Then she fell on her knees and wept.


	13. Family : 5

5.

Hyoga woke with birdsong in his ears, the early morning sun peeping through and a cat purring at his feet. She had crept in during the night through the half-open door and refused to budge, even as he got up. Going over to the window he drew the curtains and gasped. 

Bright oranges and browns and reds flared up against a pale blue sky streaked with yellowing pink clouds: he was looking at a forest in full autumn colours. Across the street a line of beech trees stood tall and straight like soldiers on guard, whilst behind these there was a growth of birches, young oak and other, less identifiable trees.

The streetlamps winked out as the sun rose and cast forth its golden rays. 

So this was what an ordinary life was like. Waking up in a bed, drawing the curtains and looking out into daybreak, and seeing that the world is just beautiful. You don't have to save it, simply enjoy it.

He felt happy.

"Oh, if I can only hold on to this one perfect moment! It will last me for the rest of my life"

He took a deep breath and sighed.

His perfect moment was over.

There would be no more mornings like this for him. Time to start running again. 

But first, he would have to do something about these people. 

Wipe their memories? There seemed to be no other solution. He did not want to see them hurt. Athena and the saints were his problem, his responsibility. Too many people had suffered and died because of him: no more would.

And yet - if he used the mindwipe (something he had picked up from Ikki, having seen the Phoenix Saint use a similar technique more that once, and twice on him) he would be doing the very thing the Fields abhorred most, that Queer had warned him against. 

__

"So this is what I have come to: in order to protect my friends I must hurt them. Oh Athena, what kind of monster the service of you turned me into?" 

He fell back on the bed, face buried in his hands.

An indignant "Mrow." came from the cat 

"Oh puss, why is it so hard, Why do I have to make such decisions?"

He stroked the animal and she began to purr, rolling over on her back loudly demanding him to scratch her fluffy fat belly.

"I wish my life could be as easy as yours, pussy. A family who loves you, a bowl of mild in the evening and a welcome warm bed. You are a lucky creature, do you know that.

She confirmed it by purring even louder.

"I must go now, puss. You understand that, don't you? I must save your family from their folly. Even if it will cost me the last shred of my Soul."

He smiled bitterly. Every step he seemed to take led him further on the road to perdition. How long before he'd stop caring?

__

I don't believe for one moment that you could ever stop caring, Hyoga. You are the sort of person who puts himself in other's people's shoes. You put yourself in mine. If you hadn't, I'd still be strip dancing in the Pink Bunny. Or worse."

"Oh, no, Shun is the one with the empathy, not me."

"But not the drive and the courage to act on it. That was all you."

"And Shaina."

"Hardly. My thoughts were all bend on revenge. All I _wanted was to kill Athena."_

"Didn't we all at some point?" 

He looked around for his clothes: they were nowhere to be seen, not even in the laundry basket in the bathroom.

That properly ended all plans he had of sneaking out after mind-wiping the Fields: the presence of his own clothes and the absence of the ones he had borrowed from Queer would betray his passing. And then he recalled the phone calls mr. Field had made last night. There was no way he could alter that. 

__

"I should have stopped them yesterday…I should never have come…but then…why not. They are adults. Why not let them shoulder the responsibility? After all, I'm only 15…"

If Hyoga had but a dim idea of what an 'ordinary' life for a teenager such as himself was like, he did know that it didn't usually include making life-or-death-save-the-world decisions.

__

"This is nice. Comfortable. Not having to think about battles or training. My Cloth be damned. Athena be damned!"

He liked the sound of that thought so he repeated it out loud:

"Athena be damned!"

He moved towards the mirror over the washbasin and began to undo the bandage over his eye.

He kept it closed, even as he finished, peering into the looking glass with his right one to examine the white flesh of the left of his face making a marked difference from the siberian-suntanned rest.

__

"You look like one of those Chinese bears, whatsits, pandas. It was ridiculous to keep wearing that thing when you know your eye has healed itself months ago. Stop punishing yourself for what happened to Isaak. The best way to honour his memory is to make sure there will be no more Isaak's - or Seiya's."

He opened his eye.

__

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it? Hiding and running: you've been good at that. You should stare reality straight into the face instead! And admit that you are ill equipped to deal with your problems: all you know is how to kill an opponent. The Fields seem pretty confident on what they can and must do…and they can help Miho and Seika and Sunrei. Together we may be able to resolve these matters."

He nodded at his reflection. Having come to a decision did him good. It seemed to him that it was an altogether different Hyoga who washed and dressed now, one who in no way resembled the ruthless Ice-Saint, nor doubting and frightened young man of the night before.

He went downstairs. All was quiet and still in the house, and he wondered if he should go back to his room and wait for the Fields to rise, or perhaps, as a sort of thank-you, prepare breakfast for them (though he had no idea how to go about doing that). But then he saw through the half-open door mr. Field sitting at the dining-room table with a pot of tea in front of him and a newspaper. Janiculus the dog lay at his feet. She got up as Hyoga entered, and wagged enthusiastically. He petted her, unsure how to begin. Fortunately, mr. Field did it for him.

He folded his newspaper and waved Hyoga to a chair.

"Good morning. Have a seat, help yourself to tea. I believe we have some serious matters to discuss."

The table was set for five: a creamy white cloth with a flowery pattern and cups and saucers of the same colour, with little silver spoons, and knives and forks wrapped in a russet paper napkin. The tiny flame of the tealight winked at him as he took the pot and carefully poured into one of the cups.

"Sugar is in the bowl. Take as many lumps as you like."

Hyoga took three.

Janiculus laid her heavy head on his knee as he sat down on his chair. She drooled a bit.

"Down, 'Cully. She's been fed, but my wife has spoilt her: she will always beg for titbits at table; just shoo her away."

Mr Field lit his first pipe of the day.

"Now then- _puff-puff_- I called my old friends yesterday night - _puff-puff_- and they had some interesting reactions." 

He looked at Hyoga over his reading glasses that were balancing on the tip of his eagle's beak nose.

"Er…" 

The Russian took a deep breath. He had rehearsed a little speech while he had dressed, and he wanted to get it right.

"Please Sir, you must understand one thing. The Gods are absolutely merciless. When they think that they are in the right they will swipe at everything that stands in their way like you would a fly. Consider your wife, your children…"

"I have." interrupted mr. Field," So have they. And we have _all_ considered the numerous innocents the Gods have put at risk. The thing is…" he paused, and wagged the end of his pipe at Hyoga as if better to drive the point home: " The thing is, the English have shown throughout their history an extraordinary talent for making troublesome commitments. We Fields are no exception. The minute you stepped through our door we felt humanly bound to help you. So we will see this through with you, son."

Son!

Mr. Field had called him: 'son'!

It was just a word, Hyoga knew, it did not mean that mr. Field considered him to be like a child of his, brother to Queer and Vimi and that brainy Esk, but it gave him a sense of belonging he had not felt in a long time: it certainly held so much more affection that his own father had ever shown him. 

A warm feeling invaded him, and he could have wept with joy.

Mr. Field was also very English when it came to emotionalism, so he pretended not to see how affected Hyoga was, and continued: "Nor have the God's actions gone unnoticed. Now the SIS keeps tabs on most big-business enterprises like Graad, but the Foreign Office doesn't usually do so. Yet when I asked Hoolahan if he knew Mitsumasa Kido, I could hear him fall over backwards. When he became ambassador in Japan, roundabout the time when you were send to your training camp in Siberia, he received orders from 'up high' to check out that gentleman. 

As for Freddie Moutjoy, he actually had me call back on a secure line! There is a file on Kido and Graad at the Office that is so Top Secret only very senior officers know about it. I have no doubt that their opposite numbers in the US, the Soviet Union, China, and France have similar files."

He paused to take another puff at his pipe.

"Up until Saori Kido outed the Saints at that Galactic Tournament, the Foundation was under scrutiny for having too long an arm to be entirely 'clean'…sorry, I do believe I use too much 'inspeak'. Let me clarify: Graad is extremely powerful and will use that power in matters that concern National -and International- Security. 

Hence the files. The General Public believes that all that was revealed about the Saints during the Tournament is just a hoax to attract viewers; and even at the Office there are many who believe all those fights were 'staged' and the information given about the rapidity of your hits faked. So you can imagine Mountjoy's excitement when I told him I have living proof of the veracity of it all."

"Oh".

Hyoga felt his heart sink. This was not what he wanted. If so many people were involved, Athena would not fail to find out and then… he shuddered at what might happen.

Mr. Field seemed to guess his thoughts.

"Don't worry. Freddie will keep mum if I ask him to. The most important thing to do first is to get those girls and your friend Jacob out. Hoolahan has given me the number of a bright young thing at the Embassy in Tokyo, and Freddie has confirmed that the lad is 'clean', I mean, trustworthy, so I've called him and he'll make contact with your Miho. "

"Oh!"

Hyoga didn't know what else to say. It was as if a load had fallen off his shoulders. He could trust mr. Field to do what was necessary. It would be all right. He would no longer have to worry about the safety of his friends.

He felt like singing.

And somebody was singing, in a pleasant, clear voice: Queer, coming down the stairs.

"'C'est la lutte finale:

Groupons-nous, et demain,

L'Internationale

Sera le genre humain.'" 

"I know that song!" cried Hyoga, surprised.

"You should, being Russian." said mr. Field with a slightly sour face, "That is the 'Internationale', the Communist Anthem. My son insists on being 'leftist' at times. He's not even pale pink, but I haven't the heart to tell him that. He enjoys trying to wind me up. Morning, son!" he called out to Queer, "You are in a revolutionary mood today."

The young man grinned, "Who wouldn't be, after last night!" and he continued:

"Il n'est pas de sauveurs suprêmes:

Ni Dieu, ni César ni tribun

Producteurs, sauvons-nous nous-mêmes!

Décrétons le salut commun!'"

"Appropriate, wouldn't you say? 'There are no supreme saviours, no God, Caesar or tribune, workers, let us save ourselves, and decree the common…how would one translate 'le salut'? Never mind, Hyoga understands French, don't you, Hyoga? I bet you even know the words in Russian."

"Warn me when you plan to storm the Winter Palace." growled mr. Field. "Meanwhile you can fix us breakfast. Full English, with sausage, bacon, mushrooms and tomato, eggs sunny side up."

"'Debout les damnés de la terre.

Debout les forçats de la faim!'" *

"Breakfast!" bellowed mr. Field, " In the kitchen, _now_, that is your Sunday job. If you want to go on living with us for free, my boy, you'll have to pull your weight."

Queer jumped to attention, clicking his heels together and sticking up his left arm in a straight salute:

"Jawohl mein Vater!" 

"And don't forget you're expected in Church at nine-forty. Better hurry."

"As to that, I was hoping you would take my place in the Choir today. I lost much of my weekly income as I didn't go buskering in town last night, so I thought to make up for it with performing in restaurants at lunch…"

"And keep the Good God waiting?"

"I thought we had established God wasn't good."

"God doesn't exist, but the people that go to mass need him, or at least the comfort of Religion and the accompaniment of your voice. You've promised Pater Bollen to sing in the Choir on Sundays, and a Field keeps his promises."

Queer threw up his arms in a mock gesture of surrender. 

"All right, all right, the_ 'Pater' ** _has spoken, your dutiful son obeys, slavery has clearly not been abolished in this family."

"Breakfast."

"Coming up! Do you take the full works as well Hyoga? And your eggs? Scrambled, hard-or soft boiled?"

"Er…" 

The young Russian got the feeling that that was all he would be able to say from know on. The Fields talked way over his head sometimes. Queer saw the look on his face and laughed.

"Know what? Come and help me in the kitchen. And never mind us: we are an odd lot. Welcome to the Family!"

Despite his bewilderment, Hyoga was sure now that he was, indeed, part of the Fields.

And he liked it.

Authors Notes:

* = 'Arise, damned of the Earth

Arise, forced labourers of Famine' (my own translation)

There is an English version of the 'Internationale' as well, available on the Net.

** = In certain upper class Oxbridge educated English families, children (used to) call their parents Pater and Mater, Latin for father and mother. This kind of thing drives mr. Field up the wall, which is why Queer does it (though he never set foot in either Oxford or Cambridge): he teases his father mercilessly, but it is based on real affection. 

__

__ __


	14. Family : 6

6.

PG warning for adult contents. Nothing worse than a striptease act.

Sitting on a worn, wooden school desk that was part of the props, legs dangling, she had kicked off her shiny black low-heeled lacquer shoes and was now peeling off her socks. They were white, virginal white, with lacy frills. 

She let one flutter, almost casually, off stage. The audience began to warm up. She sprang down, turned her back on the catcalling, hooting, halfdrunken men and unzipped her dress. 

It was a dark blue sailor outfit, reminiscent of the Japanese school uniform. That was the idea: a strip act of innocence. The audience cheered as it fell to the ground. She half turned to face it, one strap of her singlet sliding off her shoulder as she did so. She pulled it up with an embarrassed gesture. They invariably loved this part: the bashful schoolgirl stripping for the first time in public. 

It wasn't all an act. 

Though she had done it night after night, she still found it hard. The first time had actually been easier: she had stripped in a sort of daze. Now she was becoming increasingly aware that she was halfnaked in front of men. And that she had to strip further. The singlet was quickly pulled over her head, held shyly in front, then dropped. All that was left to remove was the tiniest of bras, A-cup, the smallest size to hold her budding breasts, and the loveliest of strawberry-patterned knickers.

The audience was wild now, except, she noted, a youngish gaijin in a corner, with a glass of whiskey he had barely sipped. He looked disapproving, but with gaijin, who could tell? Those pursed lips and that bobbing, rather prominent Adam's apple might mean high excitement with them. She 'd seen all sorts.

Cheeks reddening - how easy it had become to blush on demand!- she reached back and undid the bra. 

The audience was granted not a front but a side view of her pert little breasts, the nipples already erect.

She covered them with her crossed arms as she went to face them again, head bent, eyes cast down, 

every inch the demure schoolgirl again. Then as she performed the most perfect saikeirei, arms tight alongside her body, her long pigtails swept forwards, hiding the view. The public whistled and jeered. 

It was not the end of the act.

Still at the 45° bow, she slipped her hands inside her knickers and pulled them down.

The gaijin in the corner swallowed his whiskey in one gulp.

She sprang backwards landing on the school desk, and the slip flew into the audience. They fought each other over it.

And still that was not the end: the schoolgirl had undressed, they wanted the woman now. With a wild gesture she pulled the pigtails loose. Shaking her head, straight, midnight hair fell about her shoulders, her breasts…she blew it away from her face, and with a cry that was not shy at all, she leaned back and drew up her legs, opening them as she did so. 

The music stopped, the lights went out. The audience had seen Everything, and Nothing, for one brief moment. 

Yet they clapped and screamed and cheered as if they had seen All. 

She felt nothing but contempt as she hurried into the wings where Jacob stood waiting with her dressing gown. The lights went back on and it rained yens. The Russian boy skipped on stage to collect them.

She didn't think she could do it without the support of Jacob. He had taken it all in his stride, cheering her up with his impish grin, always directly at her side at the slightest sign of unpleasantness. 

"Think of it this way: at least it isn't 'hands on'." he had told her, when she had been offered the job and had flatly refused; then, in the privacy of their room, reconsidered it, " You're better off than the bar-maids…pays better too."

That had been the decisive factor: she needed the money. She'd found someone who had promised her false passports for both her and Jacob. Fortunately, being Siberian, he had rather Asiatic looks, he would be passed off as her little brother. His light hair had been dyed already. As for her, she was happy she looked older than her fourteen years, and small wonder. You grew up pretty fast in the Pink Bunny Bar. But the pay was good and the tips even more: if those creatures were willing to throw up to 10.000-yen bills for a glimpse of her most intimate parts, she would not be complaining. They were lower than worms really: they did not matter. Only her freedom mattered now. According to her calculations, she'd have enough to conclude the deal in only a few weeks. 

And then she could leave Japan for good. 

She quickly downed the cup of sake a stagehand had handed her. It was traditional after the act, the only strong liquor the Boss permitted his girls to take while on duty. Even the 'entretaineuses' who had to cajole the customers into buying them champagne and expensive cocktails merely wetted their lips, and were experts at making their drinks disappear: potted plants at strategic spots and conniving bartenders helped.

Applause welled up behind her: one of her colleagues had come on stage. The audience had already forgotten her to be titillated once more by a new performance.

She hurried to the shared dressing room.

"'Lo, Miho" greeted Minako, one of the Bar Bunnies as she entered. The older girl was reapplying her make-up.

A 1000-yen bill was sticking out of her costume, halfway her left buttock. Yes, Jacob was right, strip dancing was preferable to being groped by sweaty hands all the time.

She fished out the bill without Minako noticing and slipped it in her pocket.

The Bunny Girls were friendly with each other, but competition for tips was fierce. They were all in it for the money, and it would be stupid not to grab the opportunity if it presented itself.

Jacob came running in all excited. 

"You've made big time, Mi'. It's almost all paper money today, only a few coins from the stingy ones. " he chirped in his mixture of Russian, English and the Japanese he'd picked up in no time, "Oh yes, and there is a Johnny Sailor who wants to see you."

"He can keep wanting." she answered curtly, " The Boss knows I do strip only."

"Yeah, sure, but it's a gaijin diplomat, and the Boss says being nice to them is good for business: they are the ones with lots to spend and they keep coming back. Well, there is little else for them in Tokyo, is there, when they haven't a home and a family."

"I'm not an Bunny Bar Girl anymore."

"Go on!" said Minako, who had followed their conversation, "Gaijin's are big tippers. You know how you need the money."

Miho had made no secret about her financial distress, and since she was so young, all the girls were sympathetic.

She regretted stealing the 100-yen off her friend now, so she covertly dropped it, and bent to pick it up.

"Need it, yes, but not that badly. Here, this is yours, it just fell out of your costume."

"Oh, thank you!" the older girl exclaimed gratefully, " I'd forgotten that one."

Miho remembered how her Minako had told her she'd become a Bunny Bar Girl to support her father who had been made redundant three years previously, a fate worse than death in Japan. For a full year he had kept up the pretence for the neighbours, leaving each morning in his best suit, briefcase in hand like any salaryman *, and spend the rest of the day in hiding. Minako had noticed, and had left school to support the family that could not keep on living on their savings alone. Her mother was still unaware of everything.

"You can borrow my make-up if you like. Put your hair in a bun. That will make you look much older. If he's a _lolicon** _he will be disappointed and not try anything. And if he's not, well, just say no. You know the Boss tolerates no hanky-panky on the premises; if a customer tries anything a girl doesn't want, he'll be out on his ear, even a diplomat. "

"Oh, very well. I suppose there is no harm in having a go. Thanks, Minako, I'll use your lipstick. What would be best, cherry red?"

"Try this pink. A little blusher…and some eyeliner, no, not too dark. What colour is your dress? Pink blouse and blue skirt: perfect. Now, don't worry, I'll be around. Just call."

Miho gave her friend a hug.

"Min', you're an angel. Jacob, will you collect my costume, and perhaps go out to buy some noodle soup for our supper? As soon as I've finished with the gaijin I'll be coming home."

Home was a small room at the back of the bar; two floors up, just large enough for a washbasin, clothes' chest, a gas cooker and their rolled up futons.

"Right, Miho, see you. Take care."

The boy scurried away to collect the discarded clothes which the stagehands would have put on a hanger (or in a heap, depending on their mood) in the wings. He would iron them for the next day, with a fresh slip. 

"He's a good lad." said Minako appreciatively," Very plucky. So are you. You deserve better that to live in a place like this; I at least have a home to go to."

"Does your mother still think you work the night shift a hospital?"

"Hmm-hmm."

"I'm so sorry. At least we will be out of here soon."

"Still planning on gong to America? I hear it isn't all that it's cracked up to be, over there, so maybe getting acquainted with a gaijin isn't such a bad idea. Insurance."

"I believe he's an Englishman." said Jacob, making his reappearance, arms full of crumpled uniform.

"A Johnny is a Johnny. Come on, Miho, you mustn't keep him waiting."

The Johnny was indeed English: none other than the whiskey drinker with the Adam's apple.

His name was Reginald. Reginald Fletcher-Parks, to be precise, as he formally introduced himself, with a very adequate keirei too. His Japanese was almost accentless.

She looked him over as he gallantly pulled out a seat for her. Like all gaijins (as far as she knew) he had a big nose, a rosy face and pale eyes, but he was nice enough. He wore a three-piece suit and a striped green tie.

"May I offer you a drink?" he asked politely.

"A gin and lime." She smiled at him. The bartender would pour only lime on ice with some tonic, and make the man pay for the gin. 

Fletcher-Parks frowned.

Aren't you a little too young for alcohol? I was thinking a fruit juice.."

"We Asiatic woman always look younger than our real age."

"You are fourteen." said the man.

She was slightly taken aback by his spot-on accuracy. Then she laughed shrilly, to cover up. 

"You have been taken in by my act. Did you see the little boy collecting the money? Seven years old. My son. I admit that I was very young when I had him."

"His name is Jacob and he is Russian." said the Englishman quietly, " Not your son. Miss Miho, I know all about you. It would be best if you stopped playing your game: I have only your best interests at heart, but we won't get anywhere if you keep lying to me."

She jumped up so fast that her chair clattered to the ground. 

"Out!" she hissed at him, " Out! I have nothing to say to you! You can tell Saori Kido she has to do better than send a gaijin to win my confidence. And if you so much as lay a finger on Jacob…"

"Is there a problem?" asked Minako, popping up behind Fletcher-Parks, true to her word.

"Not at all, miss. Miss Miho has misunderstood me. I have no harmful intentions." said the man, taking out a card from his breast pocket. "My credentials."

He handed it to Miho. It showed his name under the Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom complete with its 'Honni Soit Qui Mal Y Pense", embossed in gold. 'Cultural Attaché to Her Majesty's Embassy in Japan' it read.

She gave Minako a reassuring nod.

"It's true, Mina'. You can leave us now. "

The older girl, still with a worried glance, retired, but remained watchful at a distance.

"Who are you?" Miho whispered at the man, " What do you want?"

""I am a friend of a friend of yours, and I want to help you."

"I have no friends in England!" exclaimed the girl, totally out of her depth. She knew nothing of that country, save for what she had seen on television, and that wasn't much.

"You have now." smiled Fletcher-Parks, " Please, Miss Miho, you must believe me. But can we not continue this conversation somewhere more private?"

The audience cheered, not at the young diplomat's words, but at the stripper on stage finishing her act. 

Miho almost laughed. 

"You could plot to assassinate the Emperor and not even whisper in here: no one would pay attention."

Fletcher-Park's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Yes well, all the same, I'd prefer a quieter spot. I doubt if Her Majesty approves if she knew that her representatives were seen in places like this. My business with you is…ah…not altogether official, the Foreign Office won't cover for me if I get caught."

That sounded very mysterious, and half-trusting, half in doubt, the girl led the man to her room. Minako followed, staying behind on the staircase where she had a full view of Miho's door: she was not taking any chances. 

Miho felt glad to have such a good friend.

Jacob was busy heating up the noodle soup on the gas cooker when they entered. He had opened the window so that the smell wouldn't linger; the curtains drifted slightly in the wind.

The boy greeted them with his typical forthrightness.

"Bozhe moi ***, Miho, you didn't have to go it all the way!"

The girl reddened - a real blush this time- and so did Fletcher-Parks. His tie suddenly seemed too tight.

"Ah. Hem (cough, cough) you must be Jacob."

"Must I?" asked the Russian, warily.

"If you are Hyoga's friend, yes!"

"Hyoga!" Miho exclaimed, " Is he the one you were talking about? Is he all right? Where is he? He hasn't come back to Japan has he?"

The young diplomat struggled to answer her barrage of questions. 

"Yes, indirectly…as far as I know, yes…somewhere safe…no."

Then he drew a deep breath.

"Miss Miho, listen carefully, please. The machinations of the Graad Foundation have drawn the attention of both the Foreign Office and the Intelligence Service of my country. By pure coincidence your friend met an ex-SOE man with contacts still in both Departments…"

"SOE? Is that like our KGB?" inquired Jacob.

Fletcher-Parks was indignant.

"Certainly not! SOE, or Special Operations Executive, was a Secret Army of brave men and women who, during the Second World War were to 'set Europe ablaze' as their patron, Sir Winston Churchill, our Prime Minister at the time, told them ****. They were meant to take covert actions of sabotage and…anything to holdback the Nazi War effort. It is little known that there was a Far Eastern branch of the SOE as well to which our mutual friend was attached…anyway that is not important now. What matters is to get you all to a Safe House ******, where Graad can't reach.

"I was hoping to buy fake passports to leave Japan, to that end." offered Miho.

Fletcher-Parks ran his finger through his collar.

"Yes, I was given to understand that that is why you…ah…work in this...erm…establishment. That will no longer be necessary. The Embassy will take full charge of you. I believe there is also a Chinese girl involved…"

"Sunrei. Can you do something for them as well?"

The Englishman nodded, " That was the idea. It would be best if you informed them. All the Chinese girl has to do is apply for political asylum at our Embassy. The same goes for you, young man," he added with a glance at Jacob," As you both come from Communist countries ******* and are under age to boot, you will be granted asylum relatively quickly. Japan however is not considered a country with a repressive regime…"

"You'd better readjust your views on that point." muttered Miho.

"…so it will be harder to provide for you and the other Japanese girl. We could issue you with British passports outright, but that would involve too many people at the Foreign Office. This is a rather hush-hush operation after all. If only we had some sort of legal document for you…a birth certificate would be nice."

"Would this do?"

They all started at the words coming from the open window. Something was thrown at feet. Miho shrieked.

Immediately the door burst open and Minako came rushing in, a wet mop******* in hand, screaming:

"Let her go, you _filthy lolicon gaijin freak!!!_"

And then she too shrieked, being confronted not with a gaijin freak forcing himself upon her friend, but with an athletic feminine form in armour, wearing a white eyeless mask.

Fletcher-parks too gasped at the sight, turning into a well-cooked lobster. For all its armour, the feminine shape left nothing to the imagination. His Adam's apple bobbed.

Jacob was the first to come to his senses. He slammed the door shut behind Minako so that none would disturb them further, and picked up the object the female Saint- that that is what the figure was, was obvious to both him and Miho- and examined it. It was a passport.

"You are Shaina, aren't you? Hyoga told me about you. He said you'd disappeared, though."

Shaina frowned behind her mask. She had not understood half of what the boy had said in his weird mixture of tongues, as she herself only spoke Classic Greek, Italian and a little English. Still, she had caught her own name and the Cygnus Saint's.

"I am Shaina, Silver Opiuchus Saint." 

"Doesn't wearing that thing give you pimples?" asked the Russian boy, this time using English only.

She removed the mask.

"Can you see any?"

Jacob grinned broadly. "I thought you female Saints weren't supposed to be seen barefaced by men. Not that I am complaining, mind…"

She shrugged in answer.

"How…how did you get in?" asked Minako, rather frightened, " I was watching the door all the time."

"Through the open window, of course."

"It's the second floor!"

Shaina shrugged again, accompanying it with a slight smile.

"That doesn't hold back a saint."

Meanwhile, Fletcher-Parks was gradually returning to a more normal colouring. He even managed a question out.

"Who…what…are you?!"

"You mean you don't know about the Saints?" asked Miho, "You said Hyoga sent you."

"Nothing of the sort: I have never met the boy." said the man, regaining his composure, "My brief was to get you, Miss Miho, and Miss Seika, Miss Sunrei and the boy Jacob to the Embassy and out of Japan. I was told that you knew things about Graad that the Intelligence Service dearly wished to know and that you were at some risk. That is all. Ah…may I see that passport?"

Jacob handed it over. After a brief perusal, the young diplomat exclaimed: " Why, this is exactly what we need! A passport for Miss Seika!"

Miho gave a small cry. "Seika told me she had obtained one, and had been working in a place like this - that's what gave _me_ the idea- in order to earn money for a plane ticket. Graad got wind of that and caught her at the airport even as she was boarding. They send her back to the orphanage where the Director kept her passport. Some time later she broke into his office, stole the thing and stowed away on a ship bound for…Australia I think it was, where she bought a plane ticket for Greece, but there Sanctuary caught her. That is why I wanted false passports: I don't think it will be possible to leave Japan under our real names, if at all. " she turned to Fletcher-Parks, "Graad sees all, hears all, controls all."

"Ah, but not us." smiled the Englishman proudly, " There are means of transportation out of this country that not even they can stop."

"Would they have room for one more passenger?" asked Shaina, " My presence in Japan is now known, I'm sure, and I too would like to leave. My habitual mode of travel is unavailable because watched."

Fletcher-Parks eyed the young woman dubiously. 

"You will appreciate the fact that you were not included in my brief."

However, every inch the diplomat again, he added: " We can work something out, Miss Shaina."

"Antonia." corrected the Opiuchus Saint, " My true name is Antonia Marini. I am from Sicily. I ran away as a little girl, when the Mafia murdered my father, a policeman in Palermo. I was living on the streets when a nice man approached me and told me about Sanctuary, where he would teach me how to become strong enough to avenge my father. I went with him, and they put the Mask on me, gave me a new name, made me forget everything except my desire to become a Saint. I would be fighting for Justice, they said: instead I became their executioner. Another Soldier in _their_ Secret Army. Madonna! I didn't even know what Justice is. "

"So you are like Hyoga!" cried Jacob, " A Renegade. How come you remember, now? And where did you find Seika's passport? Why come to us with it…how did you know where to find us in the first place?"

"I stopped wearing my mask after Seiya died." Shaina/Antonia replied, gravely, " My memory slowly returned. 

What they did to me was not just. As for the passport: I discovered it in Saori Kido's private safe at the mansion. I was looking for information on the others…I figured that their stories where similar to mine, so I wanted to find out if she kept files on their different backgrounds. Here they are!"

She produced the floppies she and Asterion had copied earlier from a pouch dangling at her hip

"Since they are in Japanese I went to look for you, Miho, to translate them for me; "she smiled at the younger girl, " I knew I could trust you when I heard what you called Athena, and how she treated you. I also knew were you were because I had Asterion scan Seika and Sunrei: I guessed that they would know where your hideout would be. And so I came here, and caught your conversation with _il Inglese_ …"

"Asterion, he's the telepath of the bunch, right?" asked Jacob, " Hyoga said he was a nasty character. Isn't there a risk he'll double-cross us?"

"He won't." answered the Opiuchus Saint darkly, " I made sure of that."

At Fletcher-Parks sharp intake of breath she added: "I told you I was an executioner."

Minako looked from the one at the other in complete bewilderment.

"I don't understand any of this. But you mentioned Graad. That Foundation took over the Company my father worked for, and then they cut down on personnel. I hate them, and would see them crushed. But everyone knows that those people, who have so much power, are dangerous."

"Then we had better make sure they won't find any of you." said Fletcher-Parks, taking charge, " Not even you, Miss…er, Miss?"

"Minako Asatani. But I cannot leave Japan: I have my father and mother to think of."

The young Englishman smiled at her: " I appreciate that, Miss Asatani. There may be a position open for you at the Embassy. At any rate you must cease working in this place: thus, even if Graad discovers where Miss Miho has been, they can not follow the trail any further. We are inviolate even to them."

"You hope." said Antonia.

To be continued

*Salary man = term for a Japanese employee who has no life except his work and his pay. This caused Edith Cresson, one time French Prime Minister, to call them: 'ants' 

** Lolicon = a lover of 'lolita's', young girls (after: Lolita, the novel by Nabokov)

*** Bozhe moi (Russian) = My God

**** Authentic

*****Safe House: a government-owned place where secret meetings can be held, or persons in hiding are kept by the secret service.

****** It is 1986, the Wall hasn't fallen yet, and the Soviet Union, though on its last legs, is also still in place.

******* In Japan, wet mops and buckets are ever present, and sometimes used as fire extinguisher


	15. Family : 7

7.

The Goddess was most displeased.

She showed her irritation by pacing to and fro the dais in front of the giant Athena statue that was really Her Cloth, on which stood her throne. 

Not only had the Cygnus Saint openly defied and attacked Her, not only had Shaina Silver Opiuchus Saint disappeared, not only were the children destined to become the next Generation of Saints far from adequate, not only was the new God-War becoming more and more of a reality, but also Her spy, Asterion, Silver Canes Venatici Saint had vanished into thin air. 

Not that She missed him personally, on the contrary, She disliked the man intensely: his smug self-assurance, his incessant bragging about the 'edge' he had over any other Saint (save perhaps Marin and Ikki) because of his telepathy, the lecherous looks he gave every girl he met (Not Her though. Not even he would dare.).

But She needed him. Every Saint was an asset in the present situation, however annoying.

And on top of it all business was slacking. 

Several foreign companies had withdrawn their investments in Graad. Tatsumi was forever complaining to Her about them. It was getting worrisome. There was a definite trend: all were from the United Kingdom or other 

EEC * countries, and there was even one from the USA, and that bothered Her most, because she had put her hopes on the New World. Where Europe had suffered greatly from the Poseidon Incident, the Americas had come out of it relatively unscathed, and She had found She could easily lead those gullible Americans from the US by the nose. Besides, there was where the money was nowadays. The Foundation had had to spend enormous sums and Her income was going down. 

Tatsumi recommended cutting on the costs of rebuilding, but how could they with still so much to do? 

She sighed.

Fortunately the Warriors of Blue Graad had arrived in Sanctuary; though that, too had a downside. Now She had to suffer Alexer's arrogance as well.

The self-made Lord of Blue Graad never left an opportunity untouched to remind Her just how dire her need was, and wasn't She lucky to have him? Well, She'd soon see _him _put down a peg or two. Or even three. 

Up until yesterday She had had to keep Her peace, but this morning, quite unexpectedly…

"My Goddess?"

Shiryu's low voice broke through Her train of thought.

She swung to face him, then sat down on Her throne.

"Dragon Saint. You bring news? You have accomplished your mission?"

__

"Even Her questions sound more like commands." thought Shun, watching Her from the shadows aside the dais.

Shiryu looked up.

"As best as I could."

Athena smiled at him, and for a moment it became clear why so many would fight for Her. The smile of the Goddess was indeed something to die for.

"I know you never give me but your best, Dragon. So tell me: have you discovered where Seika and Sunrei have gone to?"

"Only where they have been." he answered.

She frowned. 

Although it was a sunny day, quite warm for the time of year with November drawing on, the temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees.

Nastassia, standing next to Shun, shivered. 

The Goddess had welcomed her so kindly, and had at once taken a liking to the shy Russian girl. She had appointed her to be Her personal handmaiden. Nastassia had been honoured and was very diligent as to her task, making sure that her Lady's chiton (In Sanctuary, She always wore Greek dress) was spotlessly white, Her sandals dust-free, Her supply of facial creams and hand lotions never low and the girl especially enjoyed brushing the Goddesses' long, brown, silken locks. They would, in those private moments together just before bed or in the morning as She rose, chatter about everything and nothing, share girlish intimacies, giggling like ordinary teenagers. It had led her to believe that they were friends. Now she was sharply reminded how Athena stood miles above her.

She choked back a sob.

"It's all right, you know. Athena is just desperately worried." murmured a gentle voice at her side.

Darling Shun! Trust him to try and comfort her. He was every bit as Hyoga had described him and more.

She smiled bravely back at him and he gave her hand a little squeeze.

"Let go of my sister."

Of course, Alexer had to appear right at that moment to spoil it!

"You, Andromeda, had better remember that Nastassia is both daughter and sister to Lords of Blue Graad, and not for the likes of you, a mere Bronze Saint."

"Really?"

And there was Ikki, never far away from his brother, ever protective! He and Alexer had been at loggerheads from day one. Nastassia was sure that one day they would come to blows.

"It seems to me that you've forgotten that we are no mere Bronze Saints any longer; we bear God Cloths now. And you, Alexer, are merely a second grade Warrior, not even a Saint, and, if I am well informed, you only rose to that rather over-exalted position of Lord of Blue Graad - which is as high as you can possibly hope to get- by murdering your own father, an old man at that. What an accomplishment."

__

"Oh, Bozhe Moi, they are going to fight this time! "

Alexer had turned deadly pale, his eyes narrowing like a snow-cat's, a sure sign that he was about to pounce.

"If you two have finished…" came the icy tones of Athena "…I would like to listen to Shiryu's report without further interruption."

Alexer at once subsided and bowed low. His manners towards Athena were always impeccable.

"Of course, My Lady." 

But he never called Her 'Goddess', the arrogance of the man!

"I had just come to take my sister to our quarters. She should rest: she is of a delicate disposition and unaccustomed to the heat of this country? Of course to us, Warriors, extreme temperatures of either kind make no difference."

What that as a parting shot, Alexer all but dragged his sister off. The girl cast a last desperate glance at Shun, and a heavy sigh escaped the Andromeda Saint.

__

"If you need a diversion in order to have a chance to be close to the sister, just say the word and I'll 'occupy' the brother!"

"Please not! The situation is tense enough as it is!" We'll find a way, some day, somehow."

Ever since Asterion's disappearance Ikki had resumed his telepathic conversations with Shun, as they had done since childhood. The Phoenix Saint could not have helped but notice how Shun felt about Nastassia, and had greatly approved and encouraged his little brother, telling him it was about time that those hormones of his kicked in. Shun had mentally blushed, asked if he could please be less carnal about it, then went gushing on about Nastassia's virtues and didn't Ikki think she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen?

__

"I'd be grateful if you didn't slay Alexer. It would break Nastassia's heart and we DO need that damned fellow."

"Wow, you've actually used a swearword. You're making progress, little bro'."

"Oh, put a sock in it, will you?"

Meanwhile, Shiryu had resumed his tale.

"…and it occurred to me that someone might know where they are without consciously knowing it. Little girls take in everything but easily forget about it. I questioned all the remaining children of the Orphanage…"

__

"Diligent, isn't he?"

"Naturally he'd be worried about Sunrei."

"Hah! He never visited her once at the Orphanage when she still lived there, and she'd been gone already for a month before he started this investigation, and that only at Athena's bidding."

"…it was a setback that the Director had not informed us earlier of their departure. He had taken it for granted that they had returned to the Mansion."

"He will be fired of course. Tatsumi, make a note of it. I will not tolerate such incompetence."

Shiryu continued.

"It took awhile for me to win the children's trust. Finally, a little girl told me something very interesting."

__

"You are wrong, Ikki, Shiryu tries hard to find Sunrei. He obviously wants her back: he loves her still, after all, despite their quarrel."

Ikki managed to translate a sigh into thought.

__

"Shun, WILL you OPEN YOUR EYES ? True, Shiryu cares about the wretched girl because she is his surrogate mother and little sister rolled into one. Have you known him to worry about her, I mean REALLY worry, like he used to over his Master? When a man, even if he's still a youngster, loves a woman, he does NOT wait until his Goddess orders him about when she disappears. He will do ANYTHING to be with his love. Believe me, I know. Anyway, Shiryu's a poof."

"Ikki!"

"Alright, a homosexual. Well, don't look so shocked. It would be weird that among all of us brothers there wouldn't be a single one. Mind you, he hides it well, but I have seen him entering a Gay Bar in Tokyo's Red Light District."

"What were you doing there yourself?"

"Entering another bar. Girls, for me. Rest and Recreation, little bro', not all of us have Russian Princesses at our disposal. Disappointed? You know I'm the Bad Boy of the family. Anyway, if the Dragon can get his kicks that way I say good for him. He's still Shiryu. It doesn't make a difference to me, and I damn well hope it doesn't to you."

Shun took a long look at his halfbrother as he related the details of his search to the Goddess.

Now that Ikki had made him see the truth all the pieces of the puzzle that Shiryu had been to him lately fell into place, and the Andromeda Saint kicked himself for not realising it sooner. How come it never struck him as odd that the Dragon Saint hardly ever spoke of Sunrei, not even at the time when she lived at the Mansion, rarely smiled at her and _never_ touched her? He, Shun, had been much more open, much more close with June, even though what he felt for the Chameleon Saint came nowhere near his feelings for Nastassia. Of course, not showing his emotions might just have been Shiryu's way, but he'd never been shy of showing his feelings about his Master or Seiya. Now _that_ thought unsettled him. No, Ikki must be right. After all, when he, Shun had first set eyes on Nastassia he hadn't been able to _stop_ talking about her, asking everyone if they liked her too, wasn't her short pale golden hair not just like a halo and were her light brown eyes not the most beautiful in the world? Did Ikki think she'd like some flowers for her room? Which ones? What colour? Or would that be putting himself too forward? Could Ikki perhaps ask her?

"Go ask her yourself." his exasperated brother had told him, to which he had answered that he dare not. 

"What, the Great Andromeda Saint will brave Hades Himself but is scared of declaring his love to a girl? Okay, I'll do it for you." "Noooo!!!"

In the end he had summed up all his courage and spoken to the Russian girl and -miracle of miracles- she'd admitted, blushing shyly, that she liked him too, and from that moment on he had been treading on pink clouds.

They had spent every spare minute together, walking, talking, holding hands…kissing. Shiryu and Sunrei had never done any of that, though they did not have to hide from an irate brother. Every tender gesture had come from the Chines girl alone, never from his halfbrother. Poor, poor Sunrei…

__

"Hell, I would have kept mum if I had know my revelation would upset you this much. You look like you've lost your best friend. Like I said, it changes nothing."

"Except for Sunrei. I do feel sorry for her."

"Save those feelings for later, she'll be needing them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I…"

"Are you two _ever_ going to pay attention? Shiryu has just informed us of something vital!"

The brothers rushed forward at once, kneeling next to the Dragon Saint to show their obedience. 

"As I was saying…We know that Hyoga visited the Orphanage just before attacking us. We were told that Seika ran out and that she slapped him. The little girl however said to me that she was send after him to fix a rendezvous between them on the beach."

"Obviously, they are in league."

Shiryu nodded.

"A logical assumption. A few weeks later, both Seika and Sunrei vanished without a trace. It is a pity that they are not Saints: we would have been able to locate them by their Cosmos."

"Unfortunately, that only works when a Saint is either nearby or taps into the Big Will." said Athena, "It is imperative we find them: they can lead us to the Renegade."

__

"Notice how she won't use his name anymore?" Ikki thought-send to Shun.

"A further search proved futile. We had not a single clue." said Tatsumi.

"I concentrated on the little girl" continued Shiryu, " We talked about Miho. "

"Do we know a Miho?"

Tatsumi coughed.

"The girl who made such a racket at Seiya's funeral and was so disrespectful to you, My Goddess."

"Ah, yes. Is she important?"

"Apparently so." answered Shiryu, "For the little girl remembered overhearing a conversation between Seika and Sunrei about that young woman involving pink bunnies, of all things. I paid no attention to that, until I remembered seeing an advertisement for a Pink Bunny Bar. When I questioned Tatsumi, he told me that Seika, years ago, had been working in such a bar. So I presumed that, since the two girls had been friendly, that had given Miho an idea. After all, she's on her own now and has to earn her living: what can she do? If I had had interest in such things I might have made the connection sooner."

__

"Liar, you must have passed the place hundreds of times, the Chippendales are right next door."

"Ikki."

"What kind of establishment is this …Bunny bar?" asked Athena.

"I don't think we need to go into the details." said Tatsumi hastily.

"Oh. _That_ kind of a place."

"I checked it out." said Shiryu. "Neither Seika nor Sunrei had ever been there, but when I casually questioned the bartender, he let slip…"

__

"Yes, you'd want to be casual with the Bartender, preferably without slip."

"Ikki! Please!"

"Yeah, well, I wish he wasn't so covert about it. Why doesn't he come out of the closet? The Goddess can't disapprove, it's called 'Greek Love' after all. I hate it when people pretend to be virtuous and then sneak out at the back. Or sneak in…"

Then pun wasn't lost on Shun. He blushed fiercely.

__

"You should talk. Anyway it must be hard for him. We should be supportive. Let's talk to him and show him we don't mind. Maybe he can find someone to have a nice, steady relationship with…"

"…that one of the girls who had been working there was called Miho, and, what's more, that she had had a little Russian boy with her."

"The Renegade's friend! The one he refused to train!" exclaimed Athena.

"Exactly. Jacob. As it happens, Miho ended her employment at the Bunny Bar on the very night Seika and Sunrei disappeared. Not a coincidence, I'd say."

__

"Why do I get the feeling he's enjoying this? Dragon Saint: Athena's Secret Police. Do you think he wears a raincoat and sunglasses when he goes out sleuthing?"

"It's not funny, Ikki. I can't understand Shiryu. He's like…like a bloodhound on its trail!"

"Why so surprised? This is the Saint who will go to any lengths to win: gouging his own eyes against Medusa, having his heart transpierced in order to grab hold of Shura the Capricorn Saint…"

"You made no lesser sacrifice against Shaka in the Temple of the Virgin."

"Ah, but I had a lot to make up for and little to live for. And I didn't have the vocation to become a Saint in the first place, contrary to Shiryu who actually wanted to become the strongest of all. Did it never occur to you that he's the only one of us who wasn't blackmailed one way or the other into the part? I can't speak for Ichi, Nachi Geki and Ban of course, and Jabu is devoted to Saori Kido. "

"But Shiryu was no more keen to fight for Saori than we were."

"He fought for his Master, and that amounted to the same thing in the end. Compare with Hyoga, who went against the orders of his Master! Remember, he was sent to destroy us at the Tournament. He didn't. Makes a difference, doesn't it?"

"You admire Hyoga, don't you?"

"He has guts. Which Athena will have on a platter, if he doesn't watch out…if we don't help him."

Shun gave a sigh of relief.

__

"Oh, Ikki, I'm so glad that you think so too!"

"Careful, or it's our guts she'll have. Hush now, let's listen to the Dragon."

"It took a long time before I learned something else of significance from those…girls that serve in the Bunny Bar. All they wanted was for me to buy them expensive drinks. However, since Tatsumi had amply supplied me with funds, it was only a matter of time, patience and money. Eventually, I was successful."

"In what way?"

"The Dragon Saint looked smug.

"I discovered that Miho had a special friend among the Bar Bunnies, a young woman named Minako. She quit her job at the same time."

"Another one who has vanished, no doubt." remarked the Goddess sourly.

"Ah, but this on I have found!" said Shiryu triumphantly, "Though I wasn't told her surname, and the owner of the Bar did not know it either, for he hires his girls anonymously, I _did_ learn that she had mentioned her father, a salaryman who had been made redundant a year ago. Then Tatsumi took over the search…"

"I went through all the employees files of every company in Japan where people had been let off for the last two years." the major-domo said, " I narrowed it down to those with daughters of the appropriate age called 'Minako'. And I came up with one Seiki Asatani! The father led to the daughter."

"Bring her in. I want to question her personally."

Shiryu smiled.

"My Goddess, we have anticipated Your wish. I had her picked up as she came home from her new job. "

"Let's have the girl!" Tatsumi called to the Palace Guards, standing at attention at the top of the great stairs leading down to the Twelve Temples. They saluted neatly and ran down.

"Well done, Shiryu, I commend you."

"I live to serve My Goddess."

__

"And the worst part is: he means it too."

_"Shiryu means well."_

"He's just kidnapped a girl to halfway across the world. Weren't we supposed to protect the innocent? Or doesn't that Minako count as one just because she was friendly with Miho, whose biggest crime as far as we know is calling Athena names?"

"They won't be harmed. Not by Shiryu."

"What if Athena asks him to?"

"She wouldn't."

"Don't be too sure of that."

The Guards returned, dragging along a terrified young Japanese woman.

The Goddess smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't be afraid. I only want to ask you a few questions. I do apologise for my servant's rough behaviour. You will not suffer any further discomfort if you cooperate. What we do is unfortunately necessary."

"Who are you?" whispered Minako hoarsely, " Where am I? I was locked up in the dark for hours and then _he _came!" she pointed an accusing finger at Shiryu, " I thought he was a Demon from Hell!!! He…he took me in his arms and then I wasn't there anymore but _elsewhere_, and then here…I was sick…"

"The aftermath of teleportation." Athena told her, " Nothing to worry about. My Dragon could have transported you by more conventional means, but we are pressed for time, and we don't want you to be away from home for too long either, now do we? Tell me, my dear, where is your friend Miho?"

The Japanese woman stared at the Goddess with large frightened eyes. 

"Miho? I…I don't know what you are talking about."

The temperature dropped a degree lower.

"Now, my dear, don't lie to me. We know about your friendship. All we want from you is Miho's present address. That is not so hard, is it? I shall personally reward you if you help us. You do want to help us, don't you?"

The Goddess smiled again. It was the smile of the tiger.

"I know nothing! Nothing!" moaned Minako weeping and shaking her head, " Nothing at all?"

"It would be wise if you spoke the truth." said Shiryu dispassionately, " We will find out eventually."

The Phoenix Saint suddenly rose.

"My Goddess, let me deal with this tiresome female. It is, after all, my speciality."

__

"Ikki, no!"

"Stay out of this, Shun, I know what I am doing."

Athena arched a delicate eyebrow. Ikki rarely volunteered for anything. Then again, and with Asterion gone, he _was_ exceedingly good at extracting information from people's minds. The Phoenix Illusion had always given the most satisfactory results. 

She leaned back on her throne with her elbows on the armrests, steepling carefully manicured fingers. 

"Very well. I trust in your expertise."

Ikki flashed her a wolfish grin and stood to face Minako. 

"Now, this won't hurt a bit."

She shrieked as the Phoenix deployed his Wings.

Ikki was true to his word, it did not hurt. Minako only felt a little prick in the middle of her forehead, and everything went black. She collapsed in a heap at his feet.

__

"Ikki, how could you?"

"Would you rather Shiryu had?"

"Well?" asked the Goddess after a while.

"Well." answered the Phoenix Saint, "She was telling the truth. Miho had drawn the attention of a gaijin customer but was unwilling to …erm…satisfy him, so Minako took over. Apparently he was _very_ satisfied because he offered her a job at his own place of work. She thinks Miho quit because she was afraid that next time she would not be able to refuse anymore. Anyway, she hasn't seen the girl since. That's all."

He smiled at Shiryu.

"Sorry, Dragon, you were on the right track but your trail runs cold here."

"How annoying." said Athena, "And we have a cumbersome witness on our hands too."

"She can be memoryblocked." suggested Shiryu.

"I suppose it is necessary." sighed the Goddess," But that was always Asterion's task."

"I can do the honours just as well." offered Ikki. 

"Thank you. Please do so at once. Ah, I believe she is coming to…"

Minako stirred, groaned and looked up.

"What…what have you done? How…he…you…"

She stretched out a trembling hand at Athena, "You …you violated my mind! Buddha will judge and punish you!"

The Goddess laughed.

"Buddha you say? What a coincidence. Shall we ask him?"

Minako stared at her in horror.

She was not the only one to stare, except that the others (save Ikki, who nodded to himself and murmured "I thought so.") stared in total surprise at the figure appearing behind Athena.

"Shaka!"

The figure smiled. A soft glow emanated from him. He wore a nothing but a white toga, his long, blond locks 

like a waterfall about him, cloud grey eyes shining like stars, the red mark between them out like a fingerprint on his pale forehead. 

"Rejoice, my Saints!" cried the Goddess, "For Shaka, Gold Saint of the Sign of the Virgin, reincarnation of the Buddha has returned to us!"

Minako screamed.

"Blasphemy! Insane, you are all insane _evil _people!"

And then a clear voice rang through the Japanese woman's brain:

__

"For goodness sake, woman, if you want to live, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!!"

To be continued.

EEC= European Economic Community. In 1987, that was still the name of the European Union. 

Remember that this fic is based on the Manga. In that series, Shiryu shows no tenderness towards Sunrei (except once by offering her a flower). On the other hand, when his Master asks him at his arrival why he wants to become a Saint he answers: "I want to become the strongest." Shun by contrast is not at all effeminate or excessively weepy in the Manga. This is why I portray them as I do.

Shiryu's homosexuality plays no real part in this fic, other than that he is troubled (he's only 15 after all) and compensates by extreme zealousness in the performance of his duty. For the rest I respect his privacy.

__


	16. Family : 8

8.

The following letter was sent from Crows Hall farm near Chilgrove, West Sussex, (United Kingdom) dated the 30th of November 1987: 

Hello, Hyoga!

Bet you didn't expect a letter from me and in English at that! Well, I'm supposed to practise my teacher says I should read and write as much as I can and she sets me extra homework: an essay a week! That's right a teacher. I go to school now. It's o-bli-ga-to-ry (that's a hard word: I had to look it up in a dictionary it means you have to) for kids under 16 in this country. Isn't it great? I'm at Compton & Upmarden C of E Primary School. C of E is Church of England, means we get religious education too and boy its' much better than your Goddess! Nothing about being the strongest or killing but Love thy Neighbour and the Meek will inherit the Earth! (I've picked up the lingo quiet quickly haven't I?) It's close to were we live. Of course you don't know half of it except what I told you over the telephone when we first came here so I had better fill you in.

It all started with Reg. That is Reginald Fletcher-Parks he came into the Bunny Bar. He's a real nice chap a bit stiff at first but a regular friend in need! When he arranged for us to quit the Bar Miho cried with relief and small wonder. Who would want to continue that kind of work! And now someone's looking after us and all. 

Anyway we packed our stuff and Reg took us to the Embassy. Shaina came with us. You know that she appeared at the Bunny bar at the same time as Reg? Her real name is Antonia by the way and she won't answer to any other either. She's taken off her mask and she's real pretty too. 

The Embassy was great. I figure it must be a bit like the Kido mansion as you described it only smaller but only a bit 'cause they are adding to the building right now. It's in a park (they call it a 'compound') and practically faces the imperial palace across the water! There are lots of cherry trees and Ma'am says it's lovely in spring. Ma'am is the Ambassador's wife it's how everyone calls her I don't know her name. The Ambassador is Sir John. Ma'am is wonderful. She took real good care of us and though we had to stay indoors and in our room most of the time we weren't bored for a bit 'cause she gave us books and television and games. The food was great. They say the English can't cook but when you're used to starvation who cares? The girls liked it too. The girls that's Miho and Antonia and Seika and Sunrei. Those two came later, after Miho had gone to their weekly meeting ate the rocks (you remember where?) They were overjoyed to be away from the Orphanage though worried about the little girls who were still living there but there isn't a lot they can do is there? Except loving them says Seika, which is a girlish thing to say 'cause love won't protect them when it's their time to train for Saints.

Anyway we stayed at the Embassy for about two weeks and we all studied hard at English 'cause Sir John told us we'd be going to his country.

Then Reg told us he'd arranged for transport out of Japan and guess what? He'd hired a yacht for deep-sea fishing, and we were smuggled on board and out we sailed! Miho cried but that was because she had to say goodbye to her friend Minako, who helped us at the bar and now works for the Embassy. Reg likes her a lot. There was a scary moment when the Harbour Police held us up to search the boat but Sir John and his wife were there as they pretended to go deep sea fishing and he threw his weight about talking about diplomatic immunity (means they can't touch him) and he'd complain in high places and that settled them proper! It proves how Graad isn't letting anyone slip the net, 'cause Reg said they'd never done that before. Of course once on sea they couldn't do anything. We went all the way round the island and then crossed the Japanese Sea to the Korean mainland. It was super but Antonia was seasick all the way so she didn't like it. Don't let on I told you 'cause she's ever so embarrassed.

When we landed we said goodbye to sir John and Ma'am and there was a van waiting and with Reg and another fellow I never knew his name but I think he belongs to the Secret Service we drove all the way to Seoul! 

We'd be taking a plane there. We all have the right papers now Reg says someone with friends in high places has been pulling strings to arrange that so quickly at the Foreign Office. Miho is very proud of her British passport. She doesn't want to have anything to do with Japan anymore.

There was a surprise for us waiting at the airport: Antonia's mum! She looks just like her but older with grey hair. She was crying all the time and kept saying "Madonna Madonna Antonita mia Santa Maria grazie grazie!". It's hard to think of Shaina as having a mother. She was crying too. They said goodbye for they would fly to Rome and from there to Palermo. We went to London instead and had to say goodbye to Reg who'd be driving all the way back to where our boat had landed to be picked up. That way nobody would find out he'd left Japan. The secret service man came with us and in London drove us to the farm. 

It's called Crows Hall and its great. Very different from Siberia though there isn't even snow yet! Auntie Pauline says we should see in a month the Downs (that's what they call the hills here) would be white we might go sleighing from Bow's Hill. Auntie Pauline is the farmer's wife and he's your Mr. Field's cousin. We call him Uncle Ben. Crow's hall is huge, we each have got our own room they take in guests in summer but they say that's all right. The Secret Service man said this is better that a Safe House because we are with family. That's what it feels like too. Auntie Pauline cooks lovely my favourite is steak and kidney pie and apple crumble with loads and loads of custard and scones with strawberry jam and cream which we get for tea every day freshly baked. Remember how the Commissars back home would tell us how badly off the Western Imperialist were?

Well, after we had slept off the journey for about a day we were told we could call you on the phone and Miho was overjoyed at hearing your voice I think she is sweet on you. She and Sunrei are being taught special so that they can go to school too. Miho might already next term but Sunrei can't read or write so it might be next year for her. Seika's too old for school (she's almost twenty) but plans on evening classes to catch up. Meanwhile she helps out on the farm we all do I've got the job of collecting the eggs from our chickens each morning. 

I was very nervous my first day at school but the teacher couldn't be nicer. She told the other children how I had come from Siberia and there was a map of our country hanging over the blackboard and she showed pictures. She told the kids to help me because I didn't know the language very well and then asked if anyone had questions. Some stupid bloke trying to be funny asked I was radioactive from Tchernobyl and if my pee glowed in the dark. I whacked him for that during lunch break. His name is Dave and we are best of friends he let me have half of his marbles and taught me how to ride a bicycle we have lots of fun together playing over in Wildhams Wood. You don't know what all those places are but Uncle Ben says you are all coming over for Christmas I can't wait!

Do svidanye 

Jacob.

P. S. Auntie Pauline has helped me write this letter. 

To be continued.

Author's note: the lack of interpunctuation is because Jacob is only nine years old!

The Manga reader will have noticed that Seika is quite a bit older. In the Manga she is aged 16, but a 10-year-old girl making her way to Greece? I think not. Likewise, Marin is stated as being 16, but in the first book there is a flash-back of her being introduced to Seiya, and if she's ten then she must have had several shots of female hormones. Besides, if she's already a saint and it takes at least 6 years to become one, she must have started at 4 or younger! Funny how one can twist ones mind to the scientifically impossible but not to this! 

The places mentioned are authentic, however, as I have changed the 'real' people in this story 's names, they do not live there. So if you are ever to come to Brussels or Chilgrove and meet someone who reminds you of anyone of the 'Field' family, don't say anything and be glad with what you know.


	17. Family : 9

9.

Letter sent from Crows Hall Farm to Brussels, dated December the first.

Dear Hyoga,

How are you? 

I am better than well. I am HAPPY!!!

And I owe it all to you!!!! Thank you! Thank you!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

I never want to go back to Japan where people don't care.

I know, I am being unfair. There are good people in my country also, only I never met them. 

Seika says that it is the way our society is organised that makes it so. Our hierarchy doesn't allow for anyone stepping out of line, not even to help someone in need. 'Sorry, you are not of my family or company or school tough luck'. It's because of this form of society that Athena can thrive in Japan.

Here in England people question everything and explain everything. It is good to be somewhere where one is not bound to tradition (although they say they are very traditional!) and when someone, even a superior, tells you to do something you can answer: 'Hang on, why should I?'

Who would have thought that I could be such a rebel?! 

I was always such a shy, good little girl. Maybe something of Seiya has moved into me. He was a rebel too, in the beginning, before _she_ bewitched him. 

I still think of him every day but I cry no more. Seiya would not want me to cry. He would say it is better to celebrate life. 

So I will.

The best thing about being here is that I can be a child again. 

It's funny how girls my age over here want to be adults. At least, that is how they are in the television programs, I don't know that many girls yet. 

Well, I have had a taste of what adult life is like, the worst kind! I find it too hard to speak about the things I had to do at the Bunny Bar. Jacob knows, but I think he doesn't quite realise what it means for a girl to be seen like that. I'm glad you never did, I would be so ashamed! It was awful, awful!! 

But I am free of it now, thanks to you. 

You were in such trouble yourself yet you remembered!

I do worry about the future though. Of course I say nothing of this to Jacob or Sunrei. He's still little and should be allowed to stay a child. There now, I've contradicted myself, I say I am a child myself but I can never be again, truly, I know. But I still wish…

Sunrei has been through enough and deserves a rest. She has been telling me how cold Shiryu has been to her and how that forced her to realise that though he loves her like a brother, he is not attracted to her like she is to him.

I am so very, very sorry for her, and I don't know how to comfort her.

Seika, who is so much older, is much better at that than I. She is very wise and says that Sunrei should not be so fixed on love. This is something that will happen, or not happen: it can not be forced. And because we are still only fourteen, we have all the time in the world. 

I am glad to have Seika for 'Big Sister'. 

Now that my mind is more at rest I can see things in perspective.

Seiya was everything to me and when he died, everything fell apart.

Everything or Nothing: that is how I wanted it, and that is how you Saints lived. 

It is not a good basis to build a life on. 

Now I wonder, maybe we should reconsider?

Hating Athena is part of the Everything or Nothing.

There must be a middle way. Not that I will ever forgive her for what she did to Seiya, but still…

You have told me that she prepares for another war with the Gods. Perhaps our role can be to mediate between them. Surely they can listen to reason. All this fighting serves nothing. Both sides have tried to prove - by _winning_, not with good arguments- that they were in the right. That is a Japanese trait as well: the strongest, the winner, _must_ be right or he wouldn't have won. 

Antonia told me about your battle with Poseidon, and how Athena sacrificed herself, how she allowed herself to be locked in the 'Main Blade Winner' Pillar and took all the water that would otherwise have drowned the Earth upon her own head. How, though agonising, she still found the strength to support you with her Cosmos. 

She must love Humanity very much to do that.

So how can someone be at once so right and yet so wrong?

Can she not see that kidnapping little children and turning them into fighting machines may be the way to win the War but not the Peace? 

I often think about these things while at the same time not wishing to have to think about them. 

Just before we left Japan my friend Minako said something very important to me:

" You've done your bit. Now others can carry the load for you. Try to enjoy life again, it's what matters most."

Do you think we could, Hyoga? 

I would like to do things like other girls. Seiya spoke with such contempt of young people who lead idle lives with no other purpose than personal enjoyment. Is it so bad of me to envy them? What if it is just their way of finding happiness?

Naturally I won't stay idle. But I want to do fun things like going out with friends, to the cinema, or swimming, dancing or just hanging about chatting. That is life too. I am looking forward to it.

Hyoga, when you come over here for Christmas, do you think that we could go to the cinema some time together? I have a little money; I can pay for the tickets. 

Will you write me back? It does not have to be a very long letter.

I hope to see you soon

Miho.

P.S. Jacob tells me he wrote to you of our journey to England so I did not go into it.


	18. Family : 10

Letter postmarked Palermo, Italy November the 29th, but arrived in Brussels one day later than the previous two.

Hyoga,

It is I, Antonia, though you remember me as Shaina.

I write to you because I want to tell you how grateful I am for all you did. 

I never dreamed I would ever see my mother again, or so soon! 

I owe it partly to Reginaldo (that is Mr. Fletcher-Parks, the man from the British Embassy, who helped us).

When I told him my true name and that I was from Palermo he immediately called a friend at the Italian Embassy to find out if I had any family left in Sicily, and I have lots! 

Aunts, uncles, cousins…and Mamma of course, for all these long years have been praying the Madonna that they might find me again. Mamma even went on a pilgrimage to Roma! 

There is a statue of San Antonio di Padua in our house which she prays in front of: first for my protection and safe return, now to thank him. San Antonio is the patron Saint of the Lost as well as my own, because my name is Antonia. Around his neck she has hung her Rosary blessed by the Pope, the Catholic one, not the Sanctuary one, of course, and each day we put fresh flowers in front of San Antonio. It is a beautiful statue. He carries a little child in his arms. When I kneel to him I feel like that child, loved, safe and protected.

A true Saint, he, not like us. The Greek Gods are part of a world that is past and gone and should be: a world of ignorance and obedience. I have never been very good at obedience and I _won't_ be ignorant any longer!

They said we fought for Justice but Justice isn't something you fight for, it's something you make and give. 

My father was a policeman. He wouldn't turn a blind eye to the Mafia so they killed him. Now I am strong enough to take on all the Mafiosi of Italy but what will that achieve? Only prove that I am the bigger bully.

I won't be a bully anymore either.

It is impossible to talk of my experiences in Sanctuary to Mamma. She would not understand, but it would make her cry. I have lied to her (that hurt!) pretending that I was kidnapped by the Mafia to become one of them. 

It could almost be true, couldn't it? Mamma is very religious, if she knew about the Greek Gods it would kill her.

I want her to be happy. I want to be happy too.

Shall I tell you about my dream for the future? My personal future? We were never taught to look ahead and now I am: very strange it feels. 

I want to become a lawyer.

Have you heard of Giovanni Falcone? 

He is a judge from Palermo. He fights the Mafia with all he has, but _legal_ means. He is incorruptible and won't be bullied, just like my father. He believes in Law, which is the way to deal justice, even if it is imperfect, but that is like all things human.

I have a picture of him. He is no longer young and his hair is gray and he looks tired but so determined! I pray for him too. He is braver than all the Saints united.

I want to be like him! Fighting injustice by Law. 

I have so much to atone for.

Maybe I can not stop the Mafia but I can help people who suffer because of them. I can give them a voice: a barrister, that's what I'll be, and I'll plead in a Court of Law. Explaining why people did what they did so that they won't be punished too harshly or defend and prove innocence. 

Do you think I can? 

I am sorry, I feel rather silly writing all this when we hardly know each other: personally I mean. But you are the person I trust most in the world next to Mamma, and of course also Miho, Seika, Sunrei, Jacob and Reginaldo. 

And you were a Saint too. You know what it feels like. 

Ciao,

Antonia

P.S. You don't have to answer this letter if you don't want to. If you do, you must send it: Poste Restante Falcone San Antonio , Central Post Office, Palermo, Italy. 

We live in the country, there is post but Mamma is afraid the Mafia will find us.

__

To be continued

Author's note: the Mafia murdered Giovanni Falcone in 1992


	19. Family : 11

11.

Letter sent in reply from Brussels to Crow's Hall Farm, West Sussex, England, dated December the sixth

Hello Jacob!

It's grand to hear from you. I am jealous, you know, that you can go to school already. I too am studying to catch up. It is hard, but Queer (he is the one who set it all going, taking me to his home) says that for someone who in only six years learned how to blow up the planet, how hard can it be?

All the Fields have set to help me. Mr. Field teaches History. I can't bring myself to call him 'Uncle' like you do his cousin, so I say 'Cap' to him like his children: it comes from 'Capitol', one of the seven hills of Rome. He is wild about ancient Rome and has named each of his children after a Roman hill, even the dog! He tells me how as a child he found a ring from Roman times near Crows Hall, where he was on holiday. He was born in Singapore when that was still a British colony and his father ran a plantation near Kuala Lumpur, but he was sent to school in England when he was twelve and during holidays stayed with his cousins. It's odd, I was always taught that the Romans where oppressors, and mr. Field says they were too, but then they also unified Europe and kept the local tribes from fighting each other, build good roads, aqueducts, improved agriculture and so on. 

"It's significant that, though people speak ill about the Roman Empire, they will still call the period that came after it the 'Dark Ages'" says Cap. He has the gift to bring history alive, so now I am hooked too! It is so fascinating, and it shows both the worst and the best of humanity. It is very good of him to spend so much time on me, for he has a demanding job as well, but Queer says he is enjoying it as much as I do and is looking forward to showing me the Roman villa's of Bignor and Fishbourne when we come for Christmas, and march with me up and down the South Downs Way (which is even older than the Romans) like he did with his children. Did you know that it was your Uncle Ben who, when ploughing, discovered the Chilgrove long villa in 1963, with its mosaics? Well, I won't bore you with history lessons. 

What would you like for Christmas? Any ideas for a present for the girls? I would like to get Miho something special; she wrote to me too (and whatever her feelings for me are it's none of your business!).

I am earning some money going out 'buskering' with Queer. That is we go into town, in the 'Ilot Sacre' (the 'Sacred Isle', that is the heart of Brussels) and sing in the streets and cafe's and restaurants and the puppet theatre called Toone during the break in the performance. I said I couldn't sing but Queer said: "You are Russian, all Russians can sing! Where is your Red Army Choir spirit?" 

I can, too! I sing 'Otchi tchernya' and 'Kalinka' and such Russian favourites everyone knows. I tried an old folksong that is also in one of our opera's which mamma used to love, and they actually sang along: "Those where the days my friend…" They think it's one of theirs, because it was translated and then made famous by some woman folksinger called Mary Hopkins! But it is such a Russian song! Oh well, _nitchevo,* _as long as they pay up. 

When Queer thinks they don't tip us enough he calls out to them in the local dialect: "Allei, mam'zelleke, da joeng es weird meer v'r z'n schuun sourire alleine!" It makes them laugh and pay more. Later, he translated: "Come on miss, the lad (that's me) is worth more for his pretty smile alone." I could have sunk through the floor. Still, Queer's great. I owe him so much. He gives me books to read to improve my English. 

His sister Vimi (Viminalis) teaches me French, Latin and geography from her old schoolbooks and takes it much more seriously than her brother, bombarding me with grammar, horrible! But I suppose that if I ever am to go to school I need to know the basics. My Greek is better than hers is though! She says I will come out top of my class in that, it will compensate! 

Vimi has a friend, Nick, one can not call him boyfriend because he is not a boy, at least thirty, and he comes regularly (more to see her, I think) to give me mathematics and biology classes. I don't like them, but at least I am not too bad: Camu did give me some notion of science. Nick and Queer are constantly pulling each other's leg. They can be very sarcastic: "You haven't a scientific bone in your body, Queer" says Nick, and then Queer answered, good-naturedly: " Yes, all the scientific genes went to Vimi and Esk, there was none left for me!"

Esk, or Esquilinus, is the elder brother, I believe he and his wife will be coming over for Christmas too. 

Crows Hall will be crowded. 

Here we have just celebrated Sinterklaas. That is a children's feast, but Queer insists on keeping up the tradition because it's his birthday too. On the eve, children put out their shoes in front of the fireplace with a carrot for Sinterklaas's horse and in the morning they will find it filled with marzipan and chocolate and a present. 

Mrs. Field told me how her elder children put down one of their father's big shoes when she was expecting Queer so that 'Sinterklaas will bring the little sister' They were rather disappointed with the old man when it turned out to be a little brother! So this morning we gorged ourselves on sweets and I received a book on Russia with lots of pictures. Mrs. Field said she thought I might be homesick sometimes. Then they told me that Sinterklaas is none other than our Saint Nicholas, Patron of the _rodina_, ** our beloved Motherland! Every day I am learning something new.

I also feel more and more Russian. There is nothing Japanese in me and I hope that I am purged of Kido's blood, as Shiryu once joked. Of course I know that is impossible, it's all in the genes as Nick explained to me the other day. Mr. Field had just told me how useful the information Shaina, I mean Antonia, had given the Secret Services had been. Especially details about Kido and his organisation. He was rather surprised that it even mentioned all of our bloodgroups, even Kido's, which is AB. I was rather proud to be able to explain something in turn. It has to do with Japanese astrology, they believe one's fate is not only dictated by the stars but by one's blood as well. "That's absolute balderdash. " said Nick who was present, "Am I a dentist because I have bloodgroup O? " "Absolutely not" said Queer, " Vimi has the same group and she's your exact opposite, which is her and our good fortune…" "I have bloodgroup O" I said, and then Nick started and looked oddly at me, and asked if I was sure. Mr. Field confirmed it from the information the Secret Service had passed on to me (unfortunately that did not contain much about my family in Russia, but they are searching). Nick was silent and brooding after that but would not tell me why. But I know that if it is something important he will not keep it from me. They are all so open and friendly, and I have never known such generosity in people. I keep saying "Please I cannot accept this" but they will offer me the shirts off their back, quite literally in Queer's case, as I had to borrow clothes of his. This caused Mr. Field to buy me a complete wardrobe because, he said, he could not stand the sight of two rainbows in his house! It's true that Queer wears the strangest colours all together. He's not just called Queer, he is! ***

I've also received a letter from Antonia. She sounds very happy. All our sufferings seem so far away now. We've always been so busy saving the world that we never took time to study it, and now I am. And I want to know more! Think of being able to study and learn everything! So maybe later I can be like the Fields. 

Have a job, a home, a family.

See you at Christmas,

Hyoga

P.S. Would you like marbles to share with your friend? You shouldn't accept things without giving back.

__

To be continued

* Nitchevo (Russian) = 'Never mind'

** Rodina (Russian) = Motherland

*** Hyoga means it in the original sense, his English isn't good enough to know about the other meaning yet.


	20. Family : 12

12.

Letter sent to Crows Hall Farm, dated December sixth

Dear Miho,

Thank you for your letter. I am glad you are well.

You don't owe it to me, but to yourself. You are the bravest girl I know, and that includes Antonia! 

I can never thank you enough for looking after Jacob.

Doing what you had to do in the Bunny Bar for the sake of someone in your care, especially someone you are not obliged to in a family or friendship way, takes greater courage than Saints need.

I am glad that you no longer feel bad about Seiya. It is the same with me. This does not mean we have forgotten him and are just getting on with our lives (though we are, finally!) but that we have come to terms with his death. 

I hope Sunrei recovers. She always seemed so fragile to me. I don't understand Shiryu. She is such a lovely girl. Of course she could not have expected the two of them setting up housekeeping or marriage, they are much too young, we all are, but why could he not just be with her? Be there for her, for a chance, not for Athena. 

When I see how tender Nick, a friend of the Field family is with the daughter, Vimi, whom he loves, of whom he is so quietly protective, and not ashamed at all to touch her even in front of her parents, I wonder at Shiryu's attitude towards Sunrei. But I suppose we should not meddle too much, it is for them to work out.

Seika are right about love though. It is such a big word: love. Do we know how to? It means not just enjoying each other, but taking responsibility for each other as well. At fourteen, who is ready for that? Let's hope that they will sort it out. 

One thing is for certain though: if I had someone like Sunrei in my life I would have damned Athena and turned my back on her a lot sooner, like I was on the verge of doing after the fight with the Silver Saints.

When you have someone who loves you, you take that into account. You are not prepared to lay down your life for fear of hurting them. 

That, of course, is why my mother had to die. 

The shipwreck was no accident. I should have realised that when I told the Fields about it, and Queer (he is the younger son, who took me in) remarked: "That's odd, loads of people are desperately trying to flee the Soviet Union and fail, and you've sailed out in style!" 

When my mother's passport turned up in the Kido safe, all the pieces fell together. The private sailing yacht (only very important Party members have those in Russia!), the all-Japanese crew, the fact that they didn't observe the customary 'woman and children' first but grabbed me and pushed off the life-boat with all of them in it while my mother was still in our cabin, and when she realised the ship was sinking and came running out it was too late…

Kido. Ever and always, Kido. He sent his own yacht to pick us up at a prearranged meeting place, then had it sabotaged and sunk, coincidentally near to a training camp of Saints (they must have arranged for me to draw that lot!). And the sailors who before spoke not a word in Russian suddenly were fluent and talked about how only a Saint could lift the ship from the bottom of the sea! It was all a trap and I was cleverly manipulated into it. Kido. My father. My father who murdered my mother. All in the Service of the Goddess.

I _howled_ when realisation sunk in, I was physically ill for days, screaming for revenge and crying all the while.

Without the care and patience of Mrs. Field, I think I would have gone mad.

I may not blame Athena for it: she was just a child herself at the time. Yet it makes one wonder what further horrors were (and will be) committed in her name. Does she know, now? Does she feel guilty? Is that why she insisted after Poseidon that we lead 'normal' lives, or was that just one more manipulation? We were too far-gone to turn back. Sometimes I think that we were meant to die in Elision, with Seiya, like happened last time round, when only Dokho and Sion survived. Half-god Saints were never part of the plan, most certainly not one who started to think for himself. But we had a rebellious streak from the beginning. It was a miscalculation not eliminating us. Or maybe they tried: that is why the Gold Saints never intervened against Poseidon. Our deaths would have been fortuitous and they could have stepped in and finish the job.

Is there truly a difference between Athena and the other Gods? 

Yet she _does _have great love and compassion: I have felt it. 

Still, I think it is a very good idea to mediate between the Gods. They are like locked in never ending combat, doomed to repeat themselves: the End is only the Beginning. It seems hopeless, but that is not a reason not to try.

With the Field's help, we can wake up the International Community and with them behind us, what can the Gods do but listen?

__

The Fields are the most wonderful friends one can have. They all go out of her way to help me, and give me lessons so that I may one day resume my schooling, even Vimi, although she is terribly ill. She suffers from depressions, and sometimes she can not bring herself to do anything but sit and stare ahead and I sense the bleakness in her soul: it is frightening. But when she teaches me, French for example, she becomes a different person. Exacting and dedicated, like my master Camu, but far gentler. None of them ever pressure me, the decision to study is all mine. When Vimi explains a point of grammar or reads aloud a poem, her eyes shine and I understand (I think) why Nick loves her.

Yesterday she read me a beautiful one I would like to share with you, it is from Paul Verlaine: 

"Le ciel est par-dessus le toit, 

Si bleu, si calme!

Un arbre, par-dessus le toit,

Berce sa palme.

La cloche dans le ciel qu'on voit

Doucement tinte.

Un oiseau sur l'arbre qu'on voit,

Chante sa plainte.

Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, la vie est la

Simple et tranquille."

I have attempted to translate it for you as I believe you don't know any French:

"The sky is, above the roof

So blue, so calm

A tree over the roof,

Waves its crown

The belltower one sees against the sky

Rings softly

A bird on the tree one sees

Sings its complaint

My God, my God, life is there

Simple and quiet."

It reminds me of Russia somehow, in summer, on those lazy days just after dawn. 

But I can most identify with the last line: 

"Qu'as-tu fait, o toi que voila

Pleurant sans cesse

Dis, qu'as-tu fait, toi que voila

De ta jeunesse?"

"What have you done, oh you there who

Ceaselessly weeps

Say, what have you done, you there,

With your youth?"

It seems like those lines were written for me, though they are a 100 years old! 

But I shall cease weeping over what I have lost: I am still young and I WILL LIVE. 

At first I could not understand why the Fields took me to heart. They were outraged by my story of course, but even so, such generosity! 

Perhaps it is because they themselves have suffered loss and know the pain. For not only do they anguish about Vimi's illness, two of their children have died. 

Mr. Field was married before with a half-English, half-Tibetan woman called Dolma, whom he met in 1947 while trying to do something for a German uncle of his whom was being held in a civilian prisoner camp at Dehra Dunn on the Indian border. * They married and had twins, a son and a daughter. But just as they were about to return to England an earthquake **struck Tibet and Dolma did not want to leave her family in need. Mr. Field left alone, and never saw his wife and children again, for the Chines came and conquered Tibet. For a full year Dolma sought permission to leave, but was refused, and then she tried to go secretly across the passes, like so many did. She was lost, probably swept away by an avalanche, with her children. 

There is an old black and white photograph on the mantelpiece here of her and Aventine and Caelia ( Mons Caelius, after the hills of Rome, like Queer is Quirinalis, Vimi is Viminalis and the other brother, Esquilinus) and Mrs. Field regularly puts fresh flowers in front of it. They also do volunteer work for the Free Tibet organisation. 

It makes one wonder at Mu, doesn't it? He is Tibetan, he has lived there for years, he must have seen how his people are being oppressed, and he has done exactly nothing about it. That is typical Saint attitude, that - and Mu is by far the kindest of the Goldies! But compassion with humanity? I think not!

What good are Saints then? 

This _must _change. When I think of the Tchernobyl disaster in my own country: Camu could have quenched the heat in a flash! 

Perhaps we can bring about that change.

But first I want to have some fun as well. 

I would like very much to go with the cinema with you: you're right, it is part of life. 

Queer often takes me and to the theatre. He knows a lot about it as he went to drama school, and is part of a group of street artists called 'Les Balladins du Miroir', the Wandering Troubadours of the Mirror.

He is mad. You never know when he is acting or not. "Life," he says, "Is too serious to be serious about." 

Yet he can be quite serious, and cares deeply. There is always a scrap of paper pinned to the door of his room with a quotation, a thought, a bribe of poetry written on it: something that makes you think deeper. 

At the moment, it runs:

"Je veux etre un homme parmi les hommes. Je sais: c'est le plus difficile " 

That means: I want to be a man among men: I know, it's the hardest part.

That's me. What I want to be. A human being. Not a God, not a Saint, Human!

I hope we can talk about it and our plans for the future when we come for Christmas

Until then, Hyoga.

P.S. The quotation is from Jean-Paul Sartre's play, 'Le Diable et le Bon Dieu.' It is about an Army Commander who one day decides to do only good, but while doing that evil happens. I can identify with that too.

P.P.S. This turned out to be a rather long letter after all. Sorry about that.

__

To be continued 

Authentic. In 1940 the Dutch Government rounded up all German nationals and possible sympathisers/collaborators on their territory in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) and after the Japanese invasion had them shipped out to India where they were kept in a civilian prison camp and forgotten until the British camp guards asked why these people where still in prison and what was their crime anyway? They were told by the embarrassed Dutch to sent them all to their respective country of origin. 

Ex-inmates will praise the British for theirvery correct attitude towards them, both during and after the 

War.

** Authentic. Whole villages disappeared. The Tibetans saw this earthquake as an Omen of great Evil to come. 

They were right.

Author's note: One line of the Verlaine poem has been skipped: 

'Simple et tranquille

Cette paisible rumeur-la vient de la ville' = That peaceable sound comes from town.


	21. Family : 13

13.

Letter sent Poste Restante, Falcone San Antonio, Central Post Office Palermo, December the sixth

Antonia

Of course I write you back.

It is the same for me as it is for you: there are things I can only talk about with you.

You have undergone the same kind of treatment as I have, possibly worse; you know what it is like.

It was good to hear you found your family again. It gives me hope to find mine too. As it was always my mamma and I, it never occurred to me that there might be others. Mamma was quite young: her parents may still be alive. Thanks to you I have a good chance of finding them. It will be hard, for the Soviet Union does not give information on its citizens so readily as Italy does. Although I was not given the passport you retrieved from the Kido safe, they did give me a copy of her photograph. Mrs. Field had it enlarged and framed for me. I have it hanging on the wall with mamma's rosary around it, like your statue of San Antonio!

The rosary is a clue to my family too, for it is a Latin cross, not an orthodox one, and not many people in Russia nowadays would have solid gold crosses with jewels. Maybe we were rich once. I only hope that they are not apparatsjiki (that is kind of like the Mafia, only they are the Government in Russia). But I know mamma's family name now: Mickiewicz, which is a Polish name, and she was born in Lvov. That is a city in the Ukraine that used to part of Polandc some centuries back and there are still numerous catholic descendants of Polish immigrants, so that figures. 

Secretly, I consider the Fields to be my family. 

They took me in their home and made me feel like one of them.

Children with parents are so lucky. I envy you your mother. Mrs. Field is like one to me. She is always ready to comfort me, and tucks me in at night. I suppose that sounds silly for someone of fifteen, but it feels good, being a child again, and just a little strange, like a memory of long ago you never knew you had. Suddenly there is someone who is there for you. It is good to have someone tuck you in when you feel bad. I still miss mamma, but it hurts less now, perhaps because mrs. Field tells me that there is no shame in missing her. 

Cherish your mother. Don't be angry with me, but I envy you for her, more so because now I know that mine was murdered. Kido's doing. Does that surprise you? What would he not for the Goddess? A crime I wish I could bring him to justice for.

It is great that you wish to be a lawyer. Mrs. Field used to be a barrister too until she took early retirement a few years ago. She says it is a very exacting and tiring profession, but very gratifying too. 

It is very brave of you to think ahead. I am a fatalistic Russian: I dare not. There is still, always, Athena.

Revealing about the Saints meant explaining everything to people 'in high places'. I believe you've had to do the same? In my case it was to Mr. Fields old school friend Sir Frederick Mountjoy. I thought he would be a stern soldier type of man, at any rate someone commanding and imposing: not at all! He said to me: "Lad, you only have to tell us what you want to tell. It is natural if you feel like you are betraying your Masters. But we cannot do something about them if we don't know more than we do, which at the moment is practically nothing."

So, because he gave me the choice (which our Masters never did) I told all, even gave a demonstration, and when I had finished he sank backwards in his chair and gasped: "Lad, I'll be honest with you: when I first heard of your lot I didn't believe any of it. Now I don't know whether to weep, be angry, or totally terrified." 

Then he leaned forward and looked me straight in the eye: "We can take the load off your shoulders, but, we can only do so much. I'll set in motion all the steps we can take with our Friends and Allies against Graad. Turn off the money-tap for one thing. Basic tactics: cut off the enemy's supply lines. Chip at their power, bit by bit. Military speaking we are nowhere short of dropping the Bomb on that Sanctuary. What we should hope for is a dismantlement of the organisation. That could be achieved by legal action in concert with the local authorities, followed by careful negotiation from a position of strength. One thing I can promise you though: if I can help it, neither you nor Antonia Marini will ever have to wear armour again. Nor any other child."

I knew he meant it.

Then he told me something that scares me: Minako, Miho's friend has been caught! 

They are after us. 

She got away though, thanks to Ikki! He pretended to use the Phoenix Illusion on her and told Athena that Minako knew nothing. He then took her home and advised her to lay low for a while, then run for it. She and her parents are now in hiding in a Safe House provided by British Government, Mr. Fletcher-Parks doing. He also informed the Intelligence Service.

So Athena still does not know where we are, and of you she knows nothing at all, nor is she aware of our 'Friends and Allies' involvement, as Sir Frederick would put it. But she is looking for me, the Renegade. 

However, there is a bright side to all this: Ikki supports us! And where he is, Shun is also. 

We're not alone any more!

If only I dared contact them telepathically: but Athena might be tapping into the Big Will and trace me. 

And if she can't, Shaka will. 

That's right, Shaka the Gold Virgo Saint has returned. You'd think that he'd had the decency to stay dead for once but no. From what Ikki told Minako, he is constantly scrying for the other Goldies. I don't know how to feel about that. Much as I still hold my master in regard, I don't want him to come back from the dead. He will probably try to kill me for the umpteenth time. 

Then there is the coming God War to worry about. 

I must tell you this: if the worst comes to the worst and Athena risks losing the battle, I will don my Cloth again and fight.

Not with the Goddess. Never for the Goddess.

But for Earth, and our families.

If all Saints did that, we might end this God-game once and for all.

Dobre tchaz (that means: 'Good luck', in Russian)

Hyoga.

P.S. Do not, if you write to the others, speak of what I said. I do not want them scared too, and there is nothing they can do anyway. Let them have a happy childhood, of sorts, at Crows Hall 


	22. Family : 14

14.

The weather had suddenly turned.

It had become cold, windy and it was raining in steady icy sheets, inundating Sanctuary in a way reminiscent of Poseidon's attempt to drown the Earth. 

Nevertheless, the new recruits kept on training in the great Arena. Forced to harrowing exercises, little children, some as young a s five, all ankle deep in the mud and drenched to the bone, struck out and parried ceaselessly. Sometimes one would fall. Then their Master would take that one by the scruff of the neck, put it back on its feet and order it to continue.

Relentlessly.

Shun looked on with a deepening frown.

__

"Is this how it was for us? I cannot remember anymore. How did we stand it?"

He shivered. Did this mean that underneath they were hard as nails, precisely because they had stood it, because they were still alive? 

'The weak do not survive training.' His master had always maintained. That was why June had continually begged him to give up.

Kind, caring June, who had always looked after him. Even now she worried over the little ones. She and Thetys the former Marina shared the task of training the girls. 

How odd it felt to have a former enemy on your side now. Still, Thetys had nowhere else to go, and Poseidon had helped Athena in the fight against Hades. 

__

"Why the sudden change?" wondered the Andromeda Saint, _"First He opposes us with all He has, then He sides with us. Given Their opinion of the Human race, Poseidon and Hades should be natural allies."_

He answered his own question: _" Athena vanquished the Sea-God, and by doing so proved that She was in the right, fighting for a just cause. Is that how it is? The winner is automatically right? What if He had won, would we have joined forces with our erstwhile enemies like Thetys and Sorrento did? No, the Siren Marina already had changed sides after a fashion, before his Master's defeat, overcome by the Love of Athena, and because he learned of Kanon's treachery. After all, it wasn't Poseidon who started the war; it was Saga the Gemini Saint's evil twin. Now Saga was possessed by Ares so he wasn't all-evil, but Kanon was. Oh, this is really getting complicated. And then Kanon was also turned in the end…"_

Nervously, he looked over his shoulder. Both Saga and Kanon had returned only a week after Shaka had. Understandably, they had not been greeted with much enthusiasm. The memory of their deeds was still fresh in people's hearts. Yet Athena had forgiven them, and they had redeemed themselves fighting against Hades. Their arrival came not as a surprise really, for if Shaka was undoubtedly the strongest of the Gold Saints, the twins were past master in the art of passing between dimensions. Mu too had reappeared, actually the first to do so being the best teleporter of all, though not in Sanctuary. He had made his way to his long-time home in Tibet, wounded, exhausted, but alive. Kiki, sensing his Master's presence, had flown to his aid and brought him back. Shun was happy for the boy: the little Tibetan had been so devastated by his Master's death. 

With three (four if you counted Kanon) Gold Saints back in office, their prospects for the coming war were decidedly brightening up. Mu's arrival had been particularly appreciated, as he was the only one capable of repairing Cloths. 

Not that that made any difference to the Andromeda Saint. He considered Mu a friend. Alone among the Gold Saints, he had helped the Rebel Bronzes and saved their lives; in fact, he had been their ally before they themselves were Saints, having aided Aioros in his flight, neither asking nor needing proof of the Pope's treachery or Saori Kido's true identity. 

__

"And yet not even Mu would assist us other than repair our Cloths. How much lighter our struggle would have been with a Gold Saint on our side!"

Shun tried to chase away the thought as being and unworthy one, and found it impossible. The evidence was staring him in the face, plain and simple: once back in their Temples, Gold Saints stayed there. They were the final ramparts, the last protection of Athena. Bronzes and Silvers were just canonfodder. Occasionally one or more would rise to greatness like they had, and a former Pegasus Saint before that, vanquishing Hades. But there was never any unity in the ranks, no co-operation, no sharing of knowledge, no discussion on strategy and tactics, no plan. 'For Athena!' thay would cry, and run up (or down) flights of stairs to face their opponents, never questioning the 'why'. Even Seiya with his rebellious streak had been no exception in the end. 

With a slight smile Shun remembered Pegasus' astonishment when he, Andromeda, had offered his medallion to Charon in exchange for their passage across the Styx, without combat.

__

"Underneath all his protesting, Seiya liked being a Saint. Being the strongest. Shiryu likes it too."

Shun had always hated what he had been forced to become. So, he believed, did Ikki. 

As for Hyoga…

__

"I'd have thought Ikki would have been the one to revolt."

Once more he looked over his shoulder. The very thought of the Renegade by name could be dangerous, if captured. Not even Athena, with her great love, could forgive him for raising his hand against her. Both Saga and Kanon had done so previously, but they had not accompanied their acts with those terrible words of defiance, a veritable declaration of independence: ' I do not need you.' 

For that, Hyoga would die.

"Your guard! Keep your guard up! Will you listen to me?"

The impatience in the Master's voice was almost palpable. 

The Andromeda Saint passed a hand over his face. He would have to intervene. Shiryu pressed his charges too hard. He was not, as Marin, Shaka and the Twins were, indifferent to the pain of his trainees, quite the contrary: he could be extremely solicitous over a hurt child. But he would drill it on and on without making allowances.

"Dragon! A moment, please, I would speak with you!"

The words were out before he thought them.

Shiryu looked up, surprised. 

"Shun? Yes, of course, in a minute." he turned towards the children and called: " Enough! Back to your barracks, clean and dry your gear and start on your theory. I will be with you presently."

Shun's heart all but broke as he watched the despondent line of boys, heads drooping, too tired even to cheer the end of the lesson, staggering towards the huts that served as their lodgings.

"Yes, what is it?"

The Andromeda Saint hesitated. He did not want to give his halfbrother the impression that he was criticising the way he treated the raw recruits, however…

"Shiryu, please remember that they only arrived two weeks ago."

The Dragon Saint sighed. 

"Do you think I don't know that? I simply cannot grant them the time to adjust. It was different for us: seven years ago we still had all of the Gold Saints and most of the eighty-eight Cloths had found their bearers. Our Masters could afford to be a little lenient. "

_"Lenient! He would not think so if he had been trained on Death Queen Island like me."_

"He had a point though. Sanctuary was in no condition to face the Gods once more. Athena had committed a no-no in the God-Game: she had killed Hades. Actually killed_ him, body _and_ spirit, not chased it away like Ares or sealed it in a vase like Poseidon. It disturbed the equilibrium, and Zeus would not tolerate that. No wonder she made such allowances on whom she employed and how they exercised their functions. She must have been terrified!"_

"Yes, but is that a valid excuse?"

"Even so, some are simply too young to be Saints yet. Even Kiki may not make it before the year is out or beyond. I have arranged for the Temple Guards to compete for Silver. Some are very promising."

Shiryu made a face.

"Possibly, but they are hardly proper Saint material."

"Who would you qualify as proper Saint material? Remember the mindless brutes we had to face."

"Products of Pope's rule."

"So was Seiya."

Shiryu stared at his younger halfbrother for a moment, then said: " Alright, Shun. What is truly eating you? "

__

"Well, we had to talk about it some time…here goes."

"You. You are so…driven."

"By our great need, true."

"Yes, but do you have to be so severe? If you have a problem, don't take it out on the children."

"Shun, if you are trying to be devious, don't. It neither becomes you nor are you good at it. Obviously you are having a problem with me. Say what it is, and let's have this over with."

Shun's heart sank. This was not going to be easy.

"Ikki saw you in Tokyo." He blurted out.

"I imagine he did. " replied the Dragon Saint with a chuckle, " He could hardly have missed seeing me, since we were both staying at the Mansion before coming to Sanctuary with Athena."

"I meant…a _certain_ place."

Shiryu started and went pale.

"What…certain place?"

"You know what I am talking about."

Shun placed his hands on his halfbrother's shoulders.

"Shiryu, you don't have to be afraid. We are your friends and brothers, we love you. Don't you trust us any more? Please don't hide."

"I…I…"

"Let me tell you what Ikki said: 'It makes no difference. Shiryu is still Shiryu.' Are you?"

The Dragon Saint let out a long, rattling breath.

"I…thank you, Shun. And Ikki."

He hung his head.

"It is all so…so confusing. I felt…foul. But I could not help myself. When I went to …to _that_ place I knew for sure what I was…I wanted to run, hide, I was ashamed…and I kept going back! But I never…you know?" he looked a little pleadingly, "You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do! You are Shiryu. You would not buy…love."

Andromeda hesitated somewhat on the last word.

"Love…my Master spoke to me of it, when he forbade me to take part in the battle against Hades. He suspected, I think. He asked me if I could imagine Sunrei's pain if I were to die. I admitted that I could not, because…because I was so inexperienced." 

__

"What kind of a lame answer is that? This from the guy whose ardent belief in friendship changed the heart of my Black Dragon…"

"It is true, he actually did say that. I knew then in my heart of hearts that my Shiryu had never been mine. And still I did not wish to give up on him. Thus, after Hades, I begged him to come with me to China, leaving the Dragon behind, and turn to farming, like he loved doing that time he was blinded by Medusa. If only he had not listened to Old master then! If only Deathmask had not come! Shiryu would not have gone to Sanctuary. He would not have become so fixed on his Sacred Duty. That was all he could talk about, and not being able to abandon Athena now that she had lost Seiya."

"Don't blame him. Giving up the Cloth is not easy. Remember: they were more like living beings than simple armour. The very souls of former Saints had impregnated them. They pushed us to continue the fight as much as Athena or Old Master did."

"It also explains why Hades thought he recognised Seiya. For a brief moment the image of the first Pegasus, projected by the Cloth, superimposed itself on our brother's body. How could there be a resemblance? All that stuff about reincarnation is just so much rot. In those early days of Sainthood Japan had not been discovered by the Greeks yet. Marin and Seiya were the first of our race to set foot in Sanctuary! How could an Asiatic resemble a white man? I mean, look at Hyoga. The only similarity between Seiya and the first Pegasus lay in their fighting spirit and love for Athena."

" Shiryu was no different. No, Sunrei, it would have taken a miracle to stop him from being the Dragon."

"A miracle? Or force of will? Are we any stronger or better than Shiryu? Because we stopped."

"Did we, really?" 

"The truth was that I do not … love …Sunrei like … like a man loves a woman. Because she is a woman. ."

Suddenly the Dragon smiled, and he was the Shiryu of old again.

"If it makes no difference to you and Ikki then it should make none to me either. Thanks, both."

Shun smiled back. 

"That is what family is for, no?"

"I'm glad you're not scared of me. I'm not sure I wouldn't be, in your place…to tell you the truth, I _am_, just a little."

"Well, you know whom to turn to when it becomes to much for you."

The Dragon's smile twisted into a grin. 

"And if _you_ need someone to cover for you with Alexer…"

The Andromeda Saint groaned.

"Did someone advertise or something? Look, Nastassia and are not that serious. I mean, we are but we're not…oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, we're managing just fine. Alexer is off somewhere…"

"Hot on a trail that is cold already. To prove his worth to Athena he wants to capture the Renegade where I failed…"

Shun bit his lip. Then he took a risk.

"You too, Shiryu? Can you not bring yourself to call him by his name: Hyoga?"

The Dragon Saint grew serious.

"I am not happy with the way the situation with…_him_…has developed either, yet you have to admit that he has become a peril to our cause."

"That is how the Pope used to reason about us."

"We were with Athena. The Renegade has openly declared himself against her."

"So did we once, remember?"

Shiryu shook his head.

"You are muddling the issue. At that time we had only known Athena as the spoiled, arrogant Saori Kido, whom we despised. We did not see her true nature, the love and compassion she holds for humanity. Abandoning her was a selfish act. More, we did not think ahead, nor did we realise that the world was at stake, as it is now. United we stand. Hy…_he_ threatens that unity."

__

"So he is to be eliminated, just like that?"

The Andromeda Saint snapped his fingers.

"Is that what you want?"

"No, it is not. But he must either return to us or face the consequences. I will do my duty by Athena."

__

"Duty! What happened to Friendship?"

Shun's eyes grew wide.

"Then…if you saw it as your duty … you would kill Hyoga?"

His halfbrother considered.

_"That was decent of him." _

"Leave it, Ikki. How often in history has a Saint thought it over before he made the decision to kill someone? Mind you, I'm very glad he did. It makes me feel better about Shiryu. But since it was my life or death, I'm perhaps not objective enough"

"Hell, it's one of those blooming miracles again, if a Saint starts thinking. Obedient action was their forte, not deep thought. Not even shallow one." 

"If the order were given, I would, though it would hurt me more than I can say."

"Then Hyoga stands condemned, if even you will not help him."

"If he were to come beg and beg forgiveness, I will gladly plead in his favour." answered Shiryu gravely, " Believe me I will. The Mercy of Athena is infinite. Let us hope for the Renegade's sake that she will extend it to him."

"His name is Hyoga."

__

"Say it…oh, say it!"

Shiryu made no answer.

_"He never said a word! He simply walked straight past me! I am so sorry, Hyoga."_

"Don't be. It is not his fault. He must have been deeply troubled, and Seiya's death hit him harder than he let on. They had always been the greatest of friends and perhaps, subconsciously, in Shiryu's case, there was also something more. The dragon found solace in the strict performance of his Sacred Duty, and set aside all form of affection, like a true Saint should. 

'Sentiment breeds weakness, let it get hold of you and you are dead." that's their motto. It was my master's, anyway."

"He was wrong. Love is our greatest strength, that is what Athena too proclaimed when she faced Hades."

"How easily she abandoned it." 

As the Dragon Saint moved towards the barracks, Shun balled his fists. 

It wasn't fair. 

Hyoga had fought just as hard as the rest of them to save Athena. Harder, considering he had changed sides _and_ had had to face his own Master. He deserved the love of his brothers he deserved a chance to explain himself. Why pardon Saga, Kanon, Jamian, Asterion and the others and not Cygnus? 

It wasn't fair.

He chided himself for that childish reaction. He should have more faith in his brother and his Goddess. Even though Shiryu too labelled Hyoga a Renegade, he was still willing to speak for him. So would he himself, and Ikki, and Athena would listen. 

One thing he had learned as a Saint was never to give up hope. He would not.

__

"Ah, what a wonderful fool in a fool's paradise I was!"

"Always trying to think well of other people. It is your most endearing quality, little bro'."

Reassured and confident that all would work out well in the end, Shun stepped away light-heartedly, to find his Nastassia. 

Had he stayed but a few minutes longer, he would have witnessed the arrival of Alexer and his henchman, dragging forth the body of a man.

"You will answer for your crimes to the Goddess Athena!" cried the Lord of Blue Graad, "Move, you dog!"

The man looked up, and knew there would be no mercy for him.

__

To be continued


	23. Family : 15

15.

Nastassia was brushing the Goddess' hair with long, steady strokes.

It soothed Her.

Only the Russian girl was witness to Athena's moments of doubt and fears, her inner anguish, her pain. 

The days of silly giggles were over. Too often now the Goddess paced her room like a caged tiger, a bundle of nerves, trembling hands crumpling the edges of her chiton to the point where the gossamer silk material tore.

Nastassia knew that she could not help Athena with words of advice or strength of arms. She was only a weak, ignorant girl. All she could do was give Her the comfort of neatly ironed dresses, perfumed baths, body massage manicure and hair care. Under her gentle hands, as she carefully soaped, washed and rinsed the brown locks and towel dried them (the lack of electricity in Sanctuary meant no blowdryers) the Goddess relaxed. 

It was a strange thing that one so powerful was so much to be pitied 

At once millennia old and only fourteen, Athena carried the weight of a planet on Her fragile shoulders. She could not be the young girl Her body dictated Her to be. 

And now Graad had become the object of a criminal investigation instigated by UNICEF, the international children's welfare organisation! 

"Seika." murmured the Goddess, drumming her fingers on her dressing table, " It must be. Miho is too young and Sunrei's Chinese, the Japanese authorities would not have listened to them. Drat the girl! I was so sure the memory block was back in place. She has managed to pull the wool over all our eyes, walking around like a zombie while secretly plotting against Me. "

She leaned back.

"The disappearance of the children at Our orphanage must be explained somehow. A plausible explanation… hmmm…yes, perhaps…Jabu! Come to Me!"

The Unicorn Saint instantly materialised at the Goddess' side. He had only been the width of a door away from Her chamber, ever on guard, yet he was eager to practice (and show off) teleportation.

Nastassia gave a little cry. The Warriors of Blue Graad were incapable of teleportation since the majority among them barely reached Bronze levels, and she still had not got used to having people pop up out of nowhere.

The Goddess waved her aside with an impatient gesture.

"Jabu. You are aware of the scrutiny Graad is under, concerning the orphanage? Unfortunately the international community has taken an inordinate interest in what we do. We must ward our true intentions. The Saints have ever laboured and thrived in secrecy."

Jabu muttered something about dratted Gaijins putting their overlong noses where they didn't belong.

"Quite. However, Graad also needs the support of foreign investors. Already some are withdrawing theirs; an unfavourable report on our doings could do further damage."

"I don't understand, My Goddess. The children are being trained to become Saints for the protection of Earth! How can they possibly interpret that as anything else but Good!"

Athena sighed. Jabu had never been very bright.

"Our intentions will be misconstrued. Humanity is ever weary of great leaders, for so many among them will use their power only for conquest and destruction. The Power We have will be seen as yet another threat to the fragile balance of world peace they have maintained for over forty years, minor wars notwithstanding. Moreover, hardly anyone believes in Us. We are seen as a myth, a pleasant fantasy. Rather than tell them the truth we will tell another truth which will be a lie they will believe."

The Unicorn Saint scratched his head. 

"Forgive me, Athena, but you've lost me there."

"I was thinking of pointing the finger at Tatsumi. He has a taste for little children, boys, yet with some extra photographs among his vast collection, we can include girls: I propose we hand over a paedophile network for the investigators to sink their teeth in."

Even Jabu, who worshipped the very ground Saori/Athena trod upon, gasped. Nastassia dropped the brush she was still holding. Her mistress turned towards her. 

"You think I am callous, don't you? Hard, cold, cruel, ready to sacrifice anyone to My Cause. I _have_ to do it, for Humanity's sake. Such sacrifices are necessary. Each and everyone of my Saints will give their life to save Earth: so will I. Tatsumi will understand, for it is part of the code he also lives by."

Nastassia almost choked on her words as she cried: " What…what does a …a _creature_ like that, a child molester, do in your service in the first place! How can you tolerate someone so...so vile!"

"For the same reason as my Grandfather turned a blind eye to his …ahem…perks. He is useful. It is also why I put up with Asterion and Jamian*, why the Pope kept Deathmask despite his crimes and why I do so now. "

The Russian girl shivered as the Goddess pronounced the name the Cancer Saint had given himself. 

No-one had been happy with his arrival in Sanctuary, but Nastassia was absolutely terrified of the man. 

She had been told how, against the Wall of Lamentation, he had performed his duty as a Gold Saint with the rest of them, making the ultimate sacrifice for Athena, even though he and Aphrodite the Pisces Saint (thankfully still missing) had previously declared themselves square behind Hades. Nastassia was certain that the opportunistic Cancer Saint gave his loyalties only where his own interests lay. It shocked her that Athena was capable of similar opportunism. 

"Naturally the blame must fall fully on Tatsumi. Graad is deeply outraged and saddened by one of her employees' actions and profoundly regrets what happened. Can you arrange this, Jabu?"

The Unicorn Saint grinned.

"I get it! We shall throw the dog a bone!"

__

"That was Athena's second big mistake. If you throw a dog a bone, he will carry a bone. She thought they would be satisfied with what they were given. Instead, it encouraged them to dig deeper."

"Actually, She had a very simplistic view of how the world functions. Hardly surprising, considering this was her first- and only- time round in Modern Times. Absolutism is no longer seen as a Divine Right, and FreeThinking has cropped up everywhere. And let's not forget she had been raised in the one country on Earth where the Head of State, the Emperor, is still seen by many to be a descendant of the Gods, and where blind obedience is the norm. Even the Soviets have abjured 'Father' Stalin and in China, Mao's little Red Book is no longer regarded as Holy Writ by all. Besides, she had no idea of Britain's involvement as yet. She thought it would be Seika's word against Graad's, and who would believe a young woman who had worked in a bar babbling about Greek Gods?"

"We were lucky someone did."

Nastassia pressed her hands against her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

"I hope you understand that I have no other choice." said the Goddess. Gently She placed a hand on the Russian girl's cheek.

"Dear friend. I am so sorry you had to witness this. Sorry too, that my Sanctuary has not offered you the peace you deserve. One day, when our fight is over, I wish to see you happy…with Shun."

Nastassia blushed.

"My Lady Goddess, I…I thank you but it is too soon to think of…well, anything serious."

Athena gave a little laugh. 

"Oh? That was not the impression I got. You two are made for each other! I shall speak with your brother. Nothing should stand between your union."

"Union? But...but…"

"Saints do not have to be alone. Marriage is happiness not solely reserved for ordinary mortals. And there is the future to think of too. Your children will surely make a fine addition to the Next Generation."

__

"Nothing like planning ahead, is there? She was giving hints like that left and right. Given time, she would probably have drafted up a breeding programme! Shun the Stud, how would you have liked that, little bro'?"

"Not at all."

"Well, she certainly never would have turned me into one of her brood-mares! Much as I love you, Shun, I don't dream of having children yet for a long time. It was disgusting the way she was arranging our private lives, I could have yelled at her and I'd really have been in trouble. I never thought I'd be so glad to see my brother as he burst into the room just then…"

"My Lady, great news!!!!"

Jabu, who had already started at the sound of running feet was livid as the Lord of Blue Graad threw open the door.

"How dare you enter the Goddess' chamber like that?!? "

Taking his Unicorn stance, he directed his horn at Alexer. The Russian saltoed backwards and landed with a loud thud in a most humiliating position. He let out a string of curses, which fortunately only Nastassia could understand, scrambled to his feet and in turn took his combat position, lifting his hand; in it appeared an icicle like a spear, and he moved to throw it at Jabu.

"Stop it, both of you!" cried Athena, " Jabu, calm down. Alexer, I'd appreciate it if you learned to knock before you enter. Now, what is the excitement all about?"

"The Renegade!" triumphed the Lord of Blue Graad after casting a foul look at the Unicorn saint who scowled back, " We have him!"

Only Her dignity kept Athena from whooping as Jabu did, his antagonism momentarily forgotten.

The Goddess rose from her seat. 

"This is indeed excellent news. Jabu, sound the Bell. Let all my Saints gather in the Arena! The Renegade will be publicly tried and executed."

Nastassia's heart lost a beat.

__

"Hyoga! Not him! Oh, I must warn Shun!!"

She gathered together the long skirt of her dress and sped out. Neither Athena, Alexer nor Jabu, still exulting over their success, paid her any attention.

Through the candlelit corridor she ran and through the Great hall of the Pope's Palace. Down she dashed, down the steps of the long staircases leading to the Twelve Temples. Through Pisces, through Aquarius, trough Capricornus she went. Down, down, down, through Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, all empty of their occupants.

At the Virgo temple she made halt to catch her breath. 

Shaka was meditating inside, she knew, and he could be very intimidating when roused. Softly, gently, quiet as a mouse she tiptoed through his Halls. The Virgo Saint was indeed in lotus position, drifting some two meters above his throne. 

__

"Oh, don't let him notice…"

"What are you doing here?"

She froze as Shaka's dry monotone of a voice rang out.

"I...I'm just passing."

"You are a disturbance."

A thin hand unfolded and waved at her like one would swat a fly. 

She screamed without a sound. An intense sense of nothingness enveloped her. Her suddenly disembodied self struggled and kicked her non-existent legs, and she landed hard on a cold marble floor.

"Oh my God, Nastassia!"

"Shu…Shun?"

Her voice had come back.

She opened her eyes and stared straight into his dear, worried face, and heard him call her name over and over. She smiled to reassure him. 

Someone else knelt by her side.

"Don't attempt to sit up. " 

Soft, calm and reassuring: it could only be Mu. 

"Move your arms, slowly. Can you feel your back? Try to turn your head, carefully, now." 

As he ascertained that she had no broken bones, the warm aura of the Aries Saint glowed and chased the icy cold of teleportation from her. He helped her to her feet and with a cry of relief she flew into Shun's strong, safe arms.

"Nastassia, what happened? How did you…Mu?"

"Shaka." said the Gold Saint, without further explanation. It was not needed. Shun had understood at once, and the normally even-tempered Andromeda Saint was seething. 

"Relax, Shun, she is fine, a little shaken, that's all."

The Aries Saint sent a thought to his colleague in the sixth Temple.

__

"Shaka, what are you playing at? Have a care with Athena's handmaiden. "

"She came through my Temple without my permission to be with her lover. I sensed his Cosmos in your Temple where he was talking with you. I thought to speed her on her way. Was I wrong?"

"Yes, you bloody well were!"

Since it was an open sending, Andromeda too caught the thought and went beetroot at the word 'lover'. 

"Shun!" whispered Nastassia, oblivious of the telepathic exchange, "I came to tell you something...it is horrible, my brother…" she stopped, staring fearfully at Mu.

"Am I one too many?" asked the Aries Saint mildly.

Of all the Gold Saints in Sanctuary, he was the only one Nastassia was not afraid of. At the time when Alexer was still prowling about he had generously offered his Temple as thrysting place for the young couple, and Kiki had often served as go-between with loveletters to and fro, both enjoying their Cupid role immensely.

Yet no matter how kind and likeable Mu was, he remained a Gold Saint and unswervingly loyal to Athena, and that made Nastassia hesitant to trust him.

Shun made the decision for her.

"Mu's a friend, my heart. Speak freely."

"It's Hyoga!" she blurted out, "Alexer has found him and ...and…oh Shun, he is going to be executed in the Arena!"

"No!" cried the two Saints simultaneously, which showed that Mu's loyalties were not quite so unwavering as Nastassia had presumed.

Shun's thoughts at once jumped to his brother.

"Ikki is in danger! Alexer will have discovered he lied and…we must warn him!"

"Whoa!" cried Mu, "Ikki lied? What has he got to do with Hyoga?"

Again, the pronouncing of the Renegades name was a subtle indication of Mu's remaining sympathy for the Cygnus Saint.

"No time to explain. Mu, if you have any friendship for us, please help now. You are the only one capable of teleporting people and masking it from Shaka and the others. Ikki must be brought to a safe, secret place!"

"That will not be necessary." came the voice of the Phoenix, appearing from behind a column, "I will not be running away anywhere."

"You don't understand! They are going to kill Hyoga!"

"I heard."

"They won't give him a chance to explain himself, you know that! What chance will you have?"

"I won't run." repeated Ikki, "It's time someone told Her Highness a few home truths."

All of a sudden a loud booming resounded through the Temple.

"That will be the Bell calling us to the Arena." said the Phoenix Saint calmly, " Mu, will you teleport Nastassia?"

"No one will teleport my Nastassia but me." said Shun, drawing her closer and scowling and his brother's and Mu's chuckles. They blinked out from the Aries Temple only to reappear a microsecond later among the other Saints, Warriors, Guards and Apprentices thronging into their seats of Sanctuary's great Arena.

Athena, staff in hand, stood on the Pope's tribune, flanked by Saga and Kanon. On her left and Shaka, eyes closed as usual, on her right. Mu hurried over to take his place in the Gold ranks. Deathmask, as was his wont, stayed in the shadows somewhat apart from his fellows. He looked like he planned to enjoy himself.

Jabu took up his customary place one step below the Goddess.

Shun drew Nastassia with him to sit next to Shiryu in the public gallery. Whatever the outcome, she would be safest there. He noticed that June, Marin and Tethys had chosen to be with the other Silver and Bronze Saints**.

Even Sorrento was present.

Alexer stood in the middle of the Ring, hands on hips, overseeing them file in like an Emperor of Ancient Rome his Gladiators, waiting for the last, tiny apprentice to take a seat before he began:

"Friends, Warriors, Servants of Athena! I have come to relate to you of my discovery of a plot so horrendous as your innocent minds can not conceive! Yet one among us is not innocent, and has conceived it! Aye, my friends, Evil is once more afoot in Sanctuary, And there is another Renegade, another Traitor, in the ranks! We must purge this treachery from our midst!"

He paused, noting with sinister satisfaction the cries of dismay (and some of protest and fear) that went through the gallery. Only the Gold Saints remained unmoved.

"You all know of the Sacrilege the Renegade committed, locking Athena in an Ice Coffin; yet such was the might of the Goddess that she broke free of it. For a long time this foul rebel and the women who went with him were have been searched in vain. Where others failed, I have succeeded!"

This time there were cheers all round, and many were uttered in the hope that this would lay off all suspicion of treachery from the cheerer. Shiryu stiffened.

"And I discovered that one of you is in league with the Rebels!"

Another cry went up.

"His name! Tell us his name!"

The gallery was out for blood.

Alexer held up his hands. 

"Patience, my friends! Know that this man, (relief among the women), this Saint (even greater relief among Apprentices, Guards and Warriors) already has a past that is as black as his heart (Saga and Kanon stirred, and Deathmask withdrew deeper into the shadows) yet is counted as one of the strongest, most loyal to Athena! 

One of the very Saints who have vanquished Hades and returned from Elision!"

All eyes swivelled to the small group of God-Saints.

Ikki remained unperturbed, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded across his chest.

Alexer seemed a little disappointed at the lack of reaction, but continued:

"Like I said, we already knew that the Renegade had dealings with the women Seika, Sunrei and Miho. All disappeared without a trace, yet the last one had a friend, one Minako Asatani, who was brought here for questioning. My friends, the Traitor intervened, aye, before the very eyes of Athena he pretended to search the woman's mind and…"

"He paused once more for dramatic effect, and all held their breath in anticipation. Slowly, he stretched out his arm and pointed at Ikki.

"He lied! The Phoenix Saint is the Traitor!"

Shaka's eyes flew open. 

"The lie was cleverly covered by a half-truth: the woman Minako had a liaison with a foreign diplomat, a certain Fletcher-Parks. Indeed, she used to work at his embassy. I say 'used to', for she, too has vanished! 'Why', I asked myself. Fear of us? Nay, for the Traitor had claimed he had blocked her memory of the interrogation. upon returning her. There had to be a reason and what better way to uncover the woman's secrets than to search her lover's mind? That my friends; revealed all!"

He clapped his hands.

"Bring in the prisoner!"

__

"Mistake number three. Athena should have stopped Alexer's little performance there and then. When people saw the poor man, how he was treated, loyalties wavered, hearts changed, and minds were made up. She lost a lot of support in that instant."

"Mine, for one. I did not become a Gold Saint to torture people. What was more, I was filled with admiration for the man's bravery, facing us. I could sense his terror, yet he stood up to the Goddess herself!"

Two Blue Graad Warriors half carried in a struggling figure and kicked it to the ground in front of Athena. She remained impassive, but Shun thought he could see Mu wince for the briefest of instants.

"This, My Lady, is the lover of Minako. He is the one who has helped the Rebels get away! He had them smuggled out of Japan! I have brought him forth so that you may personally deal with him in front of all, so that this time there will be no chance of treachery!"

Athena stepped forward, he grey gaze filling with tears, yet determinedly fixed on Ikki. 

"Why, Phoenix, _why?_"

A slight smile played around Ikki's lips; 

"When did you start taking an interest in motives? However, since you ask…we Saints have fought for Justice to reign on Earth. I have seen precious little of it in Sanctuary of late. That's all."

The Goddess gaze grew cold and hard.

."It is not for you to question how My Justice is dealt."

"Precisely, _your _Justice. But I forgot, I'm a Saint, I must fight and die for you, not have my say in how you run things. Ever heard of Democracy? You should, it's a Greek invention, it means rule by the people. Now, I may not exactly be people, but _he is!_"

The Phoenix Saint gestured at the trembling figure.

"Ask _him_ about Justice! I bet he knows more about it, and Democracy, that you and all of us put together! "

The Gallery, in shocked silence throughout this exchange, burst out in cries of rage and curses, accusing Ikki of every crime under the sun and then some. It didn't bother the Phoenix in the slightest.

"Do you hear them, Athena? Those are your servants; They are so relieved at not being accused themselves that they try to outdo each other in accusations as to my person. Listen to the wolves howl!"

He stood up and called in heavily accented English to the man in the ring: "Fletcher-Parks! Do you know who I am?"

The man looked up. Blood was dripping from a head wound, and from his nose and mouth. One eye was rapidly swelling. 

"Yes…I know you." He wheezed through broken teeth, "You are the one that saved my fiancée Minako. One of those so-called Saints, but for you would have raped her Soul. You took her home and warned us of the danger. We are eternally grateful…yet you never gave us time to thank you…"

He struggled to his feet. One of the Warriors hit him in the stomach.

"Don't speak! Down, dog!"

Fletcher-Parks doubled up, retching. Yet he remained standing.

"Another sample of your Justice, Athena?"asked Ikki softly.

"Enough! I won't have the man mistreated!" called the Goddess commandingly.

"A little late, wouldn't you say? " 

Fletcher-Parks drew himself upright. The frail diplomat had not been trained to be a fighter, nor had he ever been prepared for the violence he was subjected to. And yet with that terrible calm the English have in the face of adversity, he managed to summon all his courage and, readjusting his tie, he spoke, proudly: " I am a citizen of the united Kingdom and a Civil Servant in her majesty's Diplomatic Corps. As such, I represent my Government and enjoy immunity. You have violated that and in my person attacked Great Britain and its people! There will be consequences."

Alexer gave a hoot of laughter.

"What can your Queen threaten us with? Her handbag? Oooh, I'm sooo scared now!"

His laughter was taken up by many.

"No." Answered Fletcher-Parks, curling his lips in a smile at some private joke, "But our Prime Minister might."***

Shun felt like applauding the man.

"Oh, he is so brave!" sobbed Nastassia next to him, " And he will be killed for this. Alexer never forgives people who make a fool out of him."

"He will have a heard time forgiving himself, then." said Ikki.

Athena spoke once more.

"Very well, Englishman. We shall respect your Diplomatic Immunity and grant you pardon. However, we will not return you to your people before you have told us where the Renegade is."

"Who?" asked Fletcher-Parks.

Alexer made to hit him, but Athena intervened;

" Hold, he will not be molested: we have promised. You know of whom we speak, English. He was one of ours, a traitor now. The women you helped were in league with him. Assist us, and there will be recompense; "

"If you tell us all, you shall have you life." Alexer, still furious, hissed at Fletcher-Parks.

A tremor ran through the young diplomat's body, yet he remained calm. " Then I suppose you will kill me, for I know nothing." he whispered back.

Out loud, he called, " If you mean that Russian boy, he has been granted Political Asylum. I have no idea where he is. My role as liaison has been played: others have taken over and I don't even know who they are."

"He is telling the truth." said Ikki, "Though I don't expect you to take my word for it. You will have to question his superiors. The ambassador perhaps? Why not take on the English Government while you are at it? It's ironic, isn't it? Cygnus has found refuge from _you_ among the very people you have sworn to protect. That should tell you something."

"Quiet, Phoenix, I have had enough of your insolence. I shall deal with you later." said the Goddess sternly. Then looking down on Fletcher-Parks, she asked: " One last question! Is it your Government's doing, the withdrawal of so many gaijin investors in Graad?"

"You will appreciate that I am not privy to Britain's decisions, nor would impart with them if I were."

"A diplomatic answer, which is as good as saying 'yes'. Very well, I now know all I needed to know. Mu!"

The Gold Saint stepped forward on hearing his Goddess call his name.

"This man requires treatment. With Aiolia gone, you are the greatest healer among us. See to him, and when he is well again you can send him home, after having blocked his memory, of course."

With a nod, Mu jumped into the Ring and laid his hands on Fletcher-Parks, who flinched, then relaxed as the Aries Saint's beneficent Aura permeated his being. 

"I can heal the broken bones." said Mu with his customary irony, " But I can hardly replace lost teeth."

"Leave the healing then" called Shaka "I shall change his memory, so that he will only remember being mugged. It will explain his wounds."

Fletcher-Parks lost his diplomatic composure and began to scream in terror.

"No! No! Please, no, kill me rather, but don't touch my Soul!"

"Silly man, what is your Soul compared to the safety of the world?" asked Shaka.

Mu's startingly green eyes **** met the Virgo Saint's blue ones. 

"Do you doubt my capability of performing a memory change?"

In answer, Shaka gave the smallest of shrugs. 

A thought - not his own- entered Fletcher-Parks mind as the Aries Saint's hands tightened ever so slightly, and reassuringly, on his shoulders: _"Be not afraid; I will not harm you."_

Mu swivelled the Englishman round so as to face him.

"I am Mu, Gold Saint of the Sign of arias. My art is all gentleness. You will not suffer."

A thin ray of lightning flashed through the Arena, hitting Fletcher-Parks in the back of his neck, jerking him backwards, then forwards, and the hapless young diplomat threw up all over Mu' before slumping into unconsciousness.

"Shaka!"

The green eyes went bright with fury.

The Virgo Saint gave another shrug.

"If you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself. I admit I did not foresee his … unfortunate… reaction. I will help you clean up your Cloth if you like."

"You are challenging me?"

"If I were, would you take it up?"

The Aries Saint shook his head.

"I sought no quarrel with you, Shaka, nor will I start a pointless battle that will last a thousand days and a thousand nights. Athena commanded me to take this man home, and so I will."

"No!" shouted Alexer, who had been so wild with rage that up till then he had been incapable of putting in a word, " That man's mind contains vital information as to the whereabouts of the Rebels…"

"Silence, Alexer." said the Goddess, " Your zeal is commendable, but We do not wish to provoke one of the Earth's major countries. We serve Earth and its people. Mu, I count on you to further deal with this problem. 

And Shaka, _you _will clean his Cloth."

Then she bend down to speak with the Unicorn: " Jabu, you can go and see to the little matter we spoke of earlier. Be discreet."

Both the Bronze and the two Gold Saints, Mu carrying the still unconscious body of Fletcher-Parks, vanished from the Arena.

"But…but…" spluttered Alexer, hopelessly deflated, "What about Phoenix?"

"I have not forgotten. Ikki!"

"Here we go." muttered that one, " Shun, whatever happens, stay calm and don't interfere. It will be alright."

Deploying his copper-golden wings, the Phoenix Saint sprang in the Ring to face the Goddess. 

"So what will it be, Athena? Summary execution according to custom?"

"Why did you do it, Phoenix?" asked the Goddess mournfully, "You were such a True Saint."

Ikki chose his words carefully.

"I have always believed that the only excuse for there being Saints lies in the protection they give the weak and innocent." 

"Neither qualification applies to the Renegade."

"So everyone who has a different interpretation of what is just is branded a Traitor?"

"Justice is absolute: there can be no different interpretations."

"I said: 'just', not Justice. It's not the same thing. Hyoga served you well, but he has grown to have other views than yours. Granted, he expressed them rather violently. Yet if you deny him the right to his own opinion, then there is something wring with your notion of what is just…or Justice, come to that. What was all our fighting for, if not for Man to live in freedom?"

A profound silence fell over the Arena. Never before had such words been spoken to the Living Goddess in Her own Sanctuary. 

_"You have to hand it to her: she kept her cool. It is a great pity she could not be made to see how dictatorial her regime was. And yet she believed she was working for the Common Good."_

"All good Dictators do. "

"Oh, absolutely. Athena was a Goddess. She played the game like the rest of them, though with Hades she bend the rules somewhat."

"I wonder, if the War with Hades had run like the previous one and had she sealed his spirit away for another 243 years, with the equilibrium intact Zeus would not have threatened her, and she would not have been so hard-pressed, would she have let her heart speak for her, and listen to us?"

"Oh, come on, stop making excuses for her. Love and compassion she may have had, but do you remember when we were children? How she would order one of us to play 'horse ' for her, not sparing him her riding whip…and remember how she beat Seiya when he refused, 'You are only here because my Grandfather saved you from the Orphanage' she screamed, ' You are no more than slaves and must obey me!' That was the real Athena shining through. Unlike adults Children do not dissimulate their true nature"

"Yes, but children grow up. They learn the difference between Good and Evil."

"Millennia of growing up and still she settled her disputes with a fight. Some adult behaviour that is!"

Ikki smiled. 

"Shall I solve the dilemma for you? Here's my answer."

Once more the wings of the Phoenix flashed in redgold splendour.

And broke apart.

All the pieces of the God Cloth separated, flew from Ikki's body to reassemble themselves in the air above him. He lifted his left arm and pointed at the Phoenix. It vanished. There was a short blaze of fiery light, and everyone shielded his or her eyes.

"Your Cloth!" cried Athena, " Raised to God status by My Sacred Blood! What have you done with it?"

"Destroyed it. I shall be the last Phoenix Saint."

"Impossible! You have so often told us yourself, the Phoenix will rise from his ashes. It is the one Cloth that can never be destroyed!"

""Never say 'never'. First, there have to be ashes to rise from. However, at the centre of the Earth where I have sent it its metal will be kept in permanent liquefied state. And who will be fool enough to risk upsetting the balance of the planet by retrieving it from the core? "

The Goddess anger was dreadful to behold. Her incredible Cosmos burn high behind her.

"Ikki! You have condemned yourself! No one has ever committed a crime so atrocious, the murder of one's own sacred Cloth!"

"And good riddance too. Shiryu is forever taking his off in combat, so a Saint doesn't really need it. It's just another weapon in your wars, and aren't you always priding yourself on not fighting with weapons? That's a lie: we saints are your living weapons. Well, no more: not the Phoenix. It is time you walked other paths…."

"Silence!" thundered Saga, his Cosmos just as terrifying as Athena's, "My Goddess, allow me to en this once and for all! I shall created a doorway to another dimension whereto I shall banish this traitor for all eternity, in lonely agony!"

A cruel laugh rang from behind.

"And just how many times have you already used that technique on the Phoenix? It never stopped him coming back either."

It was Deathmask grinning diabolically.

"Your brother's Bermuda Triangle attack won't make any difference either. However, he has never been subjected to the Circles of Hades before. It shall be my pleasure to expedite the Traitor. With your permission of course, Athena."

Without waiting for it, he took a crab-like pose, "I have perfected my Art considerably since last I used it on an adversary." He crooned, "Prepare to meet your Doom, _ex-Phoenix_!!"

"No!" cried Shun, "Not Ikki, not my brother!"

A hand like a steel clasp held him back. 

"You heard him: Ikki does not want you to interfere." whispered Shiryu in his ear, " You would only suffer the same fate. Your brother has made his choice. Think of Nastassia!" 

Weeping, the Andromeda Saint shrank back in his seat. 

The air around Deathmask began to swirl and throb malevolently.

"By your command, my Goddess."

Athena hesitated…

__

To be continued.

* Jamian is the Silver Saint of the Crow. He was sent flying back to Sanctuary with one blow from Ikki; one presumes he survived.

** There are 12 Gold Saints, at my count (manga only) 16 known Silver and 10 Bronze ones, plus Kanon. That does not make the full complement of 88 Therefore there must be others that were never mentioned.

*** Britain's Prime Minister in 1987 was the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, known for her absolutely lethal handbag. 

****On the cover of my copy of the manga's the Saints are in colour. Nearly all are blond and grey eyed (except Milo who has blue ones). Shura is black-haired, Deathmask brown, young Dokho black, Aldebaran unknown but presumably blond and Camu…red. Athena too is brown-haired as is Marin, Shina, Seiya Ikki and Shiryu are black and Shun is mentioned to be chestnut (not impossible for a Japanese). Hyoga is of course blond. Kiki is somewhat ginger, and I make Mu pepper-and salt, but both he and his apprentice have green eyes. 


	24. Family : 16

16.

"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" cried Jacob dancing round the car as the Field family and Hyoga got out, "Welcome at Crow's Hall! Hurrah! Girls! They're here at last!!!"

"At last?" growled Queer, unfolding his stork's legs from the middle back seat, "We hit the road this morning at eight, an hour and a half's drive to Zeebrugge, one hour waiting for the ferry, four hours crossing and keeping Hyoga from jumping overboard - did you know he is scared of sailing? - half an hour to Canterbury to have tea and visit the Cathedral- nobody in his right mind takes the coastal road west, it's awful- and then two hours more to get here…at last, he says!"

"Oh!" 

Jacob's enthusiasm was much dampened by Queer's grumpyness and revelation about his friend.

"Hyoga, you weren't…you didn't…are you all right?"

The former Saint smiled weakly. " More or less. I didn't know either…I kept reliving the shipwreck that cost me my mother! Vimi and Cap talked me through it, and Queer sang: that soothed my mind somewhat."

"I would have plied you with alcohol like we do with Pal when she has to take a plane." said Queer, flashing his wicked, lopsided grin, " Sea shanties seemed to do the trick as well, though I might have to explain about the Holy Ground*…"

"Quirinalis." admonished mrs. Field in her gently stern voice. She put an arm around Hyoga. " Being terrified of flying I know exactly how he feels. And so should you, with your vertigo. Don't tease him."

"Now then," said her husband, opening the booth of his car "Everyone sort out their luggage. Hello there, Ben, Pauline, all." That last was addressed at the three Asiatic girls coming up behind the farmer and his wife. They smiled shyly at the family.

"I'll take your suitcases." said Uncle Ben, a small, wiry paleblond man with a weather-beaten face.

"We'll help!" offered Sunrei eagerly, " Please go in and warm yourselves! Auntie Pauline has prepared a lovely supper!"

"Steak and kidney pie!" shouted Jacob, " Come one, Hyoga, let me show you around, you'll be sleeping with me in the attic!"

"Er...shouldn't I first…ahem…Mr. And Mrs. Field, it's very kind of you…"

"Ah, be off with you lads!" laughed the farmer's wife in a pleasant Sussex brogue, " And I be Auntie Pauline to you, mush**, same as to the others. Helena! Let 'em girls carry the bags, and come on in! You're staying in the Sun Room, as usual."

"Pauline!" smiled the other mrs. Field warmly, "It's good to see you. Oh!" she turned to Seika who had taken hold of a large blue suitcase, " That one contains the Christmas presents, dear, leave that for under the tree…is it already up, Ben?"

"Aye, and I nearly broke me back carrying it in an' all." chuckled the farmer, " We be decorating it tomorrow when Esk comes down from Cambridge with his wife."

"It's huge! Come see, Hyoga! "cried Jacob, dragging his friend inside, carrying on about the farm, school, his friend Dave and what did he think he was going to get for Christmas? Hyoga did his best to follow the flood of broken English with some Russian thrown in and laughed at the boy's excitement.

"Whoa! Mistletoe! Stay here, Hyoga!" Jacob said, halfway down the hall.

"Why must I stop?" wondered the elder Russian, uncomprehendingly eyeing the green bough with its pale berries suspended over his head. Someone bumped into him.

"Miho! She's under the mistletoe, you must kiss her now!" answered Jacob with a toothy grin from ear to ear at having tricked his friend, " Go on, it's a Christmas tradition over here."

Both the Japanese girl and the Russian went scarlet. Quickly Hyoga pecked Miho's cheek. It glowed under his lips. 

"Call that a kiss? " chuckled Queer, entering the hall in turn, " Let me show you how it's done…"

"Oh no you don't!" cried Vimi who had followed her brother in, " Girls, beware! Don't allow your heads to be turned by my brother. He is not to be trusted."

"Vile slander! My own flesh and blood! I'm always the perfect gentleman…"protesting Queer and to illustrate he gave Seika an elaborately courteous bow and equally courteously kissed her hand.

"That is what I meant." said Vimi dryly." My little brother has bundles of charm but is never serious. A regular heartbreaker. You've been warned!"

Seika did not look as if she minded. Queer winked at her.

"What are you blocking up the passage for?" came mr. Fields deep voice, " Move along, do, I'm dying for a drink and a pipe. I've been driving all day." 

"You'll have to telephone Nick first, dear, to tell him we've arrived." said his wife, " It's very good of him to mind the animals over Christmas."

"I strongly suspect he only offered so that he could feed Sibylla the parrot to the cats and blame it all on the dog! You know how he hates the bird." laughed Queer. "The feeling is probably mutual. By the way, I'd quite like to have a drink myself. I haven't been in the torture seat since Esk went away. Really, Cap, that car is not built for more than two people in the back."

"You'll have your pint of bitter with your supper, I'll be putting it on the table now." said Auntie Pauline, bustling towards the kitchen and mrs. Field called after her: "Half a pint for my son, only!"

Soon they were all settled in and tucked into a steaming pie.

Hyoga had duly admired the typical Sussex timberframe brick-and-flint and thatch roofed main building ("Dates back to the fifteenth century, it does!")and the large brick barn (transformed into a very comfortable guesthouse with 4 separate rooms and an attic) which could be reached via a newly build narrow corridor.

"The real farm lies at the back of the house." Uncle Ben explained to Hyoga, "We keep sheep and chickens and grow wheat and luzerne. We've been at Crow's Hall for generations, and there've been Fields farming in West Sussex since Saxon times…as my historian cousin will probably have told you already." 

"And two cows for our own milk and a horse! We can ride him in the paddock!" enthused Jacob further, " And Uncle Ben lets me sit on the tractor with him sometimes! Have you seen the rafters? I put planks up there to make a hidey-hole, I'll be sleeping there tonight, while you and Queer can have the beds…"

Only food stopped him from chattering.

Auntie Pauline was every bit as good a cook as Jacob had said she was. They ate and talked, Mr. Field and his cousin exchanging views on the recent election ("Four more years, drat the woman***!") and European Farming Policy ("How will the third world countries ever be able to compete with that damned protectionism? It's a crying shame that 2 per cent of Europe's population gets 60 per cent of its subsidies!**** " "Perhaps, but as long as they pays me to keep phantom cows, I'm not complaining.*****"), mrs. Field asking about the family and the farm, and Queer flirting outrageously with the girls which cost him baleful stares from his sister.

Cats were slinking around their legs ("They keep the mice out of the thatch!") and an old sheepdog on retirement was peacefully snoring in front of the fireplace. A roaring fire blazed in the hearth; from its mantelpiece dangled a row of long grey woollen stockings waiting to be filled.

Hyoga had never felt so contented. 

Much of that was due to a generous helping of pie (with seconds) and apple crumble which Auntie Pauline richly dolloped with thick clotted cream ("You be needing some good Sussex fare inside of you, mush, you still look a bit pale-like.") to follow. His former terror had gone completely. He truly had not known that it would happen. Since the shipwreck he had often been in the sea and even under it, but never _on _it. Driving into the big belly of the RORO-ship****** had not troubled him, nor had sailing out of the harbour. Once at sea it had hit him, starting with a trembling of the hands so violent that he had to ball them into fists to stop shaking all over. He had clenched his teeth till his jaw hurt, and his throat constricted till he thought he'd suffocate. Vimi had been the first to notice something was wrong with him. She recognised the symptoms, for irrational fear was part of her own illness. 

"You can not fight it, really, nor reason it away…pills and therapy only help so much, once it has you in its grip. It's different for you, it must be your childhood trauma that's causing the anguish, it will disappear back on land. "

He had felt ashamed then that he had ever been scared of Vimi. She had walked with him up and down the decks, talking, taking great care to shield him from the railing and the sea below. The greenblue foamtipped waters churned and boiled as the ship ploughed through the waves and they had called out to him, telling him they would come, rise, grab, crush, pull under filling mouths, ears, lungs, choking and death, death, death. …

Was this how the young woman felt in her 'black-dog' days as the Fields sometimes referred to her condition?

She had had a good day, then, but it wouldn't last. 

Queer had expressly forbidden him to talk about the possibility of healing with the aid of a Gold Saint. And yet, now that he had had a taste of what depression felt like, he could not stand by and do nothing. Turning to Shaka would be no good; the Virgo Saint 's solution to suffering was death. 

Perhaps Mu, with his great psychokenetic powers had also come back from the dead, like Shaka. Although Ailolia was the healer among the Goldies, Mu had greater compassion. No one could be afraid of Mu…

He hoped with all his heart that Aries Saint, if he had returned, would help, for, so he promised himself, if it were the last thing he'd do he'd see Vimi cured. He knew no better way to thank the Fields for all they had done for him. Even Vimi, in her condition, had not hesitated. He would never forget her solicitude during the crossing.

But in the end it had been Mr. Field who had helped the most. He had taken Hyoga to the prow, where he had pointed ahead and said: "Watch, son. It's out there."

"What is?" he had asked, straining his eyes, vaguely discerning a thin, white line on the horizon.

"England! The white cliffs of Dover! The most beautiful sight in the world. Home!"

As the cliffs grew larger, glowing in the midday sun, his fear had abated. The sight had reassured him, and so did mr. Field's quiet voice telling him how he, a boy of 12 at the time, had first seen them rising up from England's mists, after a month-long journey from sun-drenched tropics, leaving all he knew and loved behind and knowing he'd be abandoned for long school years in that cold, rainy country foreign to him. 

"I never went back to Malaysia." Mr. Field had said, " My father had decided to pull out, for he had no illusions about the Japanese intentions in the Far East after the Nankin affair *******, but he did not wish to impose life in England on his German wife, not with Hitler menacing peace in Europe. So they settled in Singapore in 1940, for the duration, believing that the city would never fall into enemy hands. Dad died in its defence as a civilian volunteer during the siege. It was better that way: I doubt he would have survived the Jap concentration camps, or the Burma Railway. Mutti, being German, was interned in a special camp for Japan-friendly nationals, in Serangan, Java ********. "

"That must have been terrible!"

'More so because she was anti-nazi, surrounded by sympathisers who cheered at news of every English loss and defeat, knowing that her only child might be among the fallen. Nor had she any news of her deported brother, or of her other brother in terror-bombed Germany. As for me, I knew not whether any of them were alive or dead!"

"Then you were as good as an orphan, like me."

"Not knowing is a terrible thing, Hyoga. The certainty of a loved one's death, the reassurance that he or she is out of reach from pain, is a comforting thought, somehow. At least that was how it felt when the lists of Singapore's casualty's were published. I was lucky, in a way: I could give it back to the Jap, I was given the choice. I could never fight my German cousin. Paul did not have that choice. "

Paul was Paul Schiller, some three years mr. Field's elder, whose photograph stood prominently on the Field's grand piano. Not until he had studied the history of World War Two somewhat had Hyoga realised that the young man with the unhappy face wore a German Wehrmacht uniform. 

"People who see that photograph think we are ex-collaborators or neo-nazi's, " mrs. Field had told him, " But can you imagine the anguish of someone whose family is divided over two enemy camps? It had been so even for his parents. My father-in-law studied in Germany for a year, and befriended a German, Karl Schiller. He often visited his friend's family, for the sake of Karl's sister Liselotte, and in 1913 they married…and a year later, another wedding would take place, between Karl and Hilda Field, my father-in-law's sister…on August the fifth. On the fourth, Germany invaded Belgium and for four years of war Hilda anguished over marrying her love, an enemy now…Yet she bravely did so, in 1919, leaving England for a devastated and humiliated Germany. You know what they say: 'If I have to choose between my friend or my country, I hope I have the courage to betray my country.' When you love someone, you see things in a different light. My father-in-law and my husband had the good fortune to live in a country that never forced them into the army. Poor cousin Paul _had_ to join the Wehrmacht. He was posted in occupied territory in my hometown on the Belgian coast when he was told they were going to invade his mother's country. He wrote a farewell letter and shot himself." She had wiped away a few tears and continued: " They pretended he was shot in action during an air-raid, but the undertaker knew better. He found the letter in Paul's pocket and gave it to my father in safekeeping. Five years later, when Hubert came looking for his cousin's grave, we were able to hand it over. That is how I first met my husband: in a churchyard, over the grave of a young man buried far from home because he would not fight the people he loved."

Now that he knew their family history, Hyoga understood better why the Fields acted as they did. It was in their blood. Their experiences had given them the wisdom to see past Honour and Duty and Sworn Oaths, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, words that meant nothing for none were absolutes. They had learned the lessons in understanding and passed them on to their children. More than teaching languages, geography and history, the Fields were teaching Hyoga the true meaning of life and how to live it. And whenever doubt and guilt crept over him on having abandoned Athena's cause, he thought of the young man in the photograph with the sad, sad eyes. It took courage to fight, but he knew now that it took even greater courage _not _to fight.

__

"True: settling a dispute with one's fists is the easy way out. It's what children do in a schoolyard brawl. Turning your back on one who challenges you, walk away: that is bravery. Better yet: meeting the other halfway. Trying to see his point of view."

"Not something Saints excel at. Unless you count shouting 'Prepare to die!' at the top of your voice before attacking as 'meeting the other halfway'. "

"Now I understand why Saints are always children or adolescents. Catch them young, indoctrinate them, make sure they don't develop a mind of their own, fill them with crap about fighting for Love and Justice and never, ever let them experience ordinary life, for fear of them discovering the Other side of the Hill, and find there is much to be said for the view from there…"

Looking around at the joyful faces of his new friends and family, Hyoga knew that the perfect moment he had felt that first morning at the Field's place had returned, and that there would be many more such moments from now on.

Christmas at Crow's Hall followed age-old traditions. 

Auntie Pauline, occasionally flanked by Queer who was the cook in the family ("With both parents working, you have to do it yourself if you want to eat well.") spent the better part of next day in the kitchen. Lovely smells of mince pie and stuffing wafted through he house.

At eleven, a rickety old Morris Minor drove into the courtyard and out came a tall, handsome, black-haired and bearded man followed by a tiny, dark-skinned heavily pregnant woman.

Queer greeted his elder brother with his customary irreverence.

"Hello, Esk, what's with the new beard? You look like Che Guevara. Want to give Cap a heart attack? Sing after me: 'El Pu-eblo, Uni-iiido, ja-mas se-ra Venci-iiido!'"********

"Idiot." said Esk amiably, and clapped his younger brother on the back. Unabashed, Queer grabbed the pregnant woman by the waist, and whirled her about: "'Skippy, skippy, skippy, the bush kangaroo…' How's my Australian aboriginal sister-in-law doing? How's little Roo?"

"Half-aboriginal and if you don't want me to drop the baby here and now, don't go 'a-waltzing Mathilda' with me! I'm not a marsupial, thank you!" answered the woman laughingly.

"Did you bring your didgereedo along for midwinter blowing? It will sound lovely over the downs; deep Sussex won't know what's hit it."

"Idiot!" repeated Esk, " You never change, don't you? Hello there. You must be Hyoga." 

He greeted the young Russian with a firm handshake.

"I'm Esquilinus, and this is my wife Laura, whom my irreverent brother insists on calling 'Skippy', after a television animal from when we were kids…anyway, the nickname has stuck. So you are a…Saint, eh?"

"I _was_ a Saint."

"The past tense is noted." said Esk with a grin just as lopsided as his brother's (but not so wicked) , " To tell you the truth, if Cap hadn't told me about you I'd have thought this was one of Queer's more elaborate pranks. Can you really teleport? God, if I could work out the mathematics of it…"

"Kick him someone, quick, he's going 'physicky' again!" cried Queer, "Esk, don't bother with the calculations, just accept it as the truth."

"But it upsets our whole idea of the Universe!" protested Esk, " Transforming mass into energy and reassembling it back again without loss is every physicists' dream. Stevie would give what's left of his body if he could formulate…"

"Who's the idiot now? The greatest scientific discovery since Einstein and you want to hand it to your professor? 

Stephen Hawking *********is already world famous, let the Student surpass the Master."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, brother, but it takes a bigger brain than mine. Of course, a scientific cavedweller who can't even solve the simplest of equations like yourself can not imagine the variables involved…"

"Oh, be quiet, you two! " cried 'Skippy', "Esk, you promised, no 'physicking' over Christmas. Let's go in! Little Roo wants a rest from the bumpy ride…and so does Kanga!"

Esk sniffed the air.

"'Are those mince pies I smell before me'?"

"That's my brother!" laughed Queer, " Shakespeare and Science. Yes, there are, and you'll have to sing for them, we are off carolling after lunch!"

The singing of Christmas Carols was another firmly upheld Field tradition.

"We've got a regular choir now." said Uncle Ben, " Miho and Seika are both soprano's and Sunrei has a very nice alto. They have been practising on 'Silent Night' and 'Oh, Come All Ye Faithful', and little Jacob here does a lovely solo with 'Good King Wenceslas'. With Esk's, Hubert's and my baritones as backing and your tenors Queer and Hyoga ("Contra-tenor in my case, actually" corrected Queer) we can do a grand 'Holly and the Ivy' and 'God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen'. Since the others can't sing to save their lives, we'll leave them to preparing the feast. Let's go!"

They went from door to door to all the neighbouring farms, ending with the Manor and then the village of Chilgrove, carolling. Filled up with mince-pies in recompense ("Not as good as Auntie's" whispered Jacob, stuffing himself nonetheless) they finished their tour at the Royal Oak Inn at the foot of Chilgrove Hill, where mr. Field decided it was time for a drink. 

"Old Alf Anger the landlord draws the best ale in Sussex, straight from the cask" Queer told Hyoga, "Very nice though of course it can't hold a candle to our Belgian Beers."

"No underage drinking over here! This is England, remember. Alf could lose his licence." admonished his father.

'Oh God, do they still stick to that old rule that under sixteen's can't enter a pub? Remember the time when I had to sit on the doorstep next to the doggy-bowl…"

"Nah, it be alright now. By the way, Alf has just renewed his license, he'll be telling ye all about it, he'll love a new audience." chuckled Uncle Ben.

The pub was full of rosy-faced Sussex men and women, chatting and chaffing ale and having a jolly good time drinking in the Christmas atmosphere along with their pints. The landlord set great glasses of the frothy stuff and lemonade and fruitjuice in front of them and true to Uncle Ben's prediction began telling about his little 'court affair'.

" So they asks me have I improved my toilet facilities mr. Anger? ' an' I tells them 'I don't need to, I got fifteen acres out the back!'"

Roars of laughter greeted the story, even from those who had heard it several times before.

__

" This is how it is.' thought Hyoga,_" How it should be. Ordinary people sharing a laugh. This is what we were deprived of."_

" Penny for your thoughts?" came the voice of Queer, noticing his friend's pensive mood.

Hyoga smiled back .

" They aren't worth a Ruble.' he laughed ," I was thinking of how much I've missed out on. Christmas in Russia was never such a big feast because we were poor and not really allowed to be religious, but I remember Mamotsjka always managed to turn it into a special day. There was an old Pope in our village who secretly held Mass, and he didn't mind us being catholic. Funny how I never found it odd that we used to cross ourselves the other way round, but then, I was too young. We did keep an icon in the house though, of the Bogoroditsa, the Holy Mother of God…that is, the Madonna. I wonder what happened to it….I suppose it's at the bottom of the sea…"**********

" You'll have a chance of saying a prayer for your mother tonight." said Queer gently, " We are going to Midnight Mass in Midhurst, it's the nearest Catholic Church. Mind you, the Vicar would let us in just like your Pope did, but Omi, my German grandmother from Cologne, which is extremely Catholic country, would never set foot in an Anglican one, she was that religious. She even walked the way! Which is what we'll be doing, it's a family tradition. Six miles over Linch Down, along Bepton road and through Midhurst Common, lucky Christmas is only once a year! I know, it sounds pretty hypocritical, us unbelievers going to Church. It's the community spirit we do it for. Besides, the religious members of the family have never given up hope for our conversion, one likes to please. We go to Arundel Cathedral Easter mornings, and that's too far a walk, we take the horse and cart then. So will the 'oldies' now."

" Will Trotter be able to pull you all?" asked Jacob

" Not a problem." answered Uncle Ben, " He be a Shire horse, he'll pull a barn if he has to. It would have been nice though if there'd been snow, you could have taken the sleighs along, it'd been that quicker down hill."

Hyoga grinned to himself. The farmer had just given him a good idea.

Dusk was settling in as they walked back to Crow's Hall, following their noses the last half mile or so for the lovely smell of roast goose.

A gorgeous Christmas dinner awaited them. For starters creamy soup, then the stuffed goose and they all cheered as the flaming Christmas Pudding was brought in. For full five minutes they all played 'witches', spooning the eerily burning alcohol over and over the giant pudding. 

" Who'll find the thimble this time I wonder?" joked mrs. Field, " It always seems to be me, after thirty years of marriage too!"

'There are things hidden in the pudding!" explained Jacob to a bemused Hyoga, "Auntie prepared it a month a go. We all got to stir the bowl as they were put in and make a wish. There's the wishing-bone and the ring, that means you are getting married in the coming year, and the crown…"

" I aim for the silver six-pence." said Queer, 'Now then, where's the custard? Let's eat!"

As they ate and laughed over their finds ( Queer had the thimble and wailed: I am going to be an old maid!!!" while flashing a Dom Juanesque smile at the girls who giggled and blushed) Hyoga quietly slipped out.

It was a frosty night, full of stars. Ideal for what he was about to do.

He started concentrating. Yes, it was still there, his Cosmos. He felt it flare up and burn, surrounding him.

__

" Come, clouds, come to me from Siberia, shed your white treasure…let it snow!"

Slowly, softly, silently the first flakes fell.

"Hyoga?'

Sunrei had followed him.

" It is a generous gift and I know why you do it but is it wise? What if Athena or Shaka sensed it…you are the only Ice Saint…"

" Bah, it took them awhile to realise that the rains were Poseidon's doing…besides I think it's worth the risk. 

Look at the Downs! England's beautiful."

Sunrei nodded. 

"It is, because we belong now. I love China still, but it was never home: for that, you need a family, and however kind Old Master was, in the end I was just his servant, no? Do you know that Uncle and Auntie have asked us if they could adopt us?"

" They are wonderful people. Cap said he'd have me for a son, too, but that I first need to know if I have family still in Russia, and meet them. I do have a British passport now, though, I needed it to come over, but Cap kept it; he is being rather mysterious about it."

" Maybe it's part of your Christmas present."

" Probably. I feel as if my life with the Fields is one giant present…and I fear the moment when I…"

'Hyoga, Sunrei, come in quick! There is something about Graad on the telly!' called Seika, coming out in search of them white-faced and worried.

They rushed in.

" I was just turning it on for the weatherforecast and they announced it" said Auntie Pauline pointing at the lighted television screen.

A woman reporter came into view. 

'The evidence of a large paedophile network at the heart of one of Asia's major import-export companies, the Graad Foundation, has hit Tokyo like an earthquake.' she was telling the viewers, ' Already Graad has been in the news last year at the start of a megalomaniac sporting event instigated by the Foundation. Seven years ago Mitsumasa Kido, then head of Graad, began this project as a giant mix of Astrology, Greek myth and traditional oriental Martial Arts. Deceased before he could see his dream take form, his adopted granddaughter, Saori Kido, took over. Funded by the Foundation, a stadium was build reminiscent of the Coliseum in Rome, where, in the past, similar gladiatorial fights were held. No costs were spared and it was equipped with state of the art modern technology. The ten contestants, 'Saints' as they were called, some as young as twelve and none over sixteen, all dressed up in so-called Cloths, armour vaguely resembling the Star-signs they were named after and reportedly protected by. They were to participate in merciless combat, Marquis of Queensberry Rules _not_ applying. However, of the _one hundred_ boys sent out to various training camps for this purpose six years previously, only ten came back and there was no word of the others. 

What happened to them was only one of the many questions I asked the Graad Foundation's spokesman. 

First, however, some images of the tournament…Some of these may shock sensitive viewers…'

Extracts from the combats between Seiya and Geki, Hyoga and Ichi, Jabu and Ban, and Seiya against Shiryu were shown. The camera had caught all the details, down to the last splatters of blood, and did not spare them.

' The competition was ended prematurely." continued the reporter, " When one of the contestants made off with the prize, the so-called Gold Cloth. No explanations were given nor was the public reimbursed. Since then Graad has fallen under severe scrutiny. Recently, the Foundation has finally seen fit to respond…"

The Kido Mansion was shown. Hyoga suppressed a shudder. Then his mouth fell open: the Kido spokesman was not Tatsumi, as he had expected, but Jabu! 

" He's been send to answer their questions? He's a tail that will wag without the dog! They must be scraping the barrel if they think he's a fit spokesman." the Russian cried.

' Sir, a year ago it was claimed that the contestants in the Galactic Tournament possessed supernatural powers…'

Jabu gave a little laugh.

' Surely you do not believe that! Hitting at the speed of sound, meteor-like impacts? A schoolboy will tell you that that is scientifically impossible. This is real life, not a comic. Everything that was shown was a carefully set up act. Even our first press conference on the matter, in which I as one of the participants challenged another and showed off my skill was publicity stunts, with concealed explosives…' 

'It was claimed at that conference that the so-called Saints had in the past been responsible for sudden, inexplicable twists in history…'

Again Jabu laughed.

' I assure you even Japanese history books will tell you that it was the Russian winter and your own Wellington and his brave soldiers and allies that defeated Napoleon!'

" When did he ever open a history book?' said Hyoga venomously, " I didn't know he could read!"

" Obviously, he has come well-prepared for this interview." said mr. Field, " Buttering up to the British won't help though. That's one of the BBC's star reporters, he shouldn't underestimate her because she's a woman."

"' You are yourself a Saint, are you not?'

'I have that honour.'

'Trained along with ninety-nine others, ninety of whom have disappeared without trace…'

'On the contrary, we know perfectly well where they are, only to protect their privacy it is not made public: most of them never completed the training and thus never made the tournament…we wish for them to lead normal lives and they do…'

" That's a wicked lie!" shouted Hyoga.

'How old are you?'

The sudden question seemed to rattle Jabu for the first time.

'I am fifteen.'

" Silly twit, you should have lied better about that." said mr. Field, " She 's going to pin you down on it now." 

'That would have made you about eight when you started your training…'

" There, what did I say?"

'Did you parents agree to your participation?'

Jabu reddened.

'I am an orphan. I was extremely fortunate to be chosen by the great Mitsumasa Kido…'

'You were an orphan at the Children of the Star orphanage founded and financed by Graad seemingly expressly for the purpose of turning you into Martial Arts experts, and of the one hundred of the first generation only ten succeeded. What is more, they all but for you have vanished, as have the younger children that until recently lived at the Orphanage. Tell me, were they too collected to become Saints?'

Jabu was losing his cool, Hyoga could tell.

' My…Kido San was a great and noble man. His generosity offered us poor orphans a future…'

'But to some, it meant torture.' interrupted the reporter, 'For not only was the training harsh and the combats gruesome, there is now evidence that the late Mitsumasa Kido left his project into the hands of a paedophile.'

'Most unfortunate, yes.'

'Unfortunate is not the word many would use. Tokumaru Tatsumi was Kido's right-hand man in his later years and effectively ran Graad after his death, Saori Kido as heiress to the Kido fortune and the Foundation being still a minor.'

'That is correct.'

'And until his arrest this morning he continued to do so?'

'Yes.'

'Pornographic pictures were discovered it his rooms of very young children. Tell me, did he ever touch you?'

Jabu was thoroughly shaken now.

'How dare you suggest…I… I…no.'

'Do you know of anyone among your fellows who was?'

'Not at the time, but now that I think of it…perhaps…'

'Would any or all of the missing children be among those?'

'Perhaps.'

'So it is true that for five years a practising paedophile was head the largest Asian Import-export Company with regular access to an _entire orphanage full of children_?'

'…Yes…'

'Will Graad continue to train children as Saints?'

Jabu hesitated.

'I am sorry, this is the end of the interview. I thank you for coming.'

The Unicorn made to go, but the reporter had one last parting shot: ' All the participants of your Galactic Tournament were of Asiatic origins save one. Can you tell us more about him?'

Hyoga started as much as Jabu did.

'You are mistaken, they were all Japanese.'

A picture was shown of the Cygnus Saint during his combat with the Hydra. The camera zoomed in on his face.

'A blond, blue-eyed, pale-skinned Japanese boy?'

'I…his father was Japanese, he takes after his mother.'

' Is he also an orphan? What happened to his parents? Did any of the _one hundred_ orphans have _any _other family at all, however far removed? Have you?'

The dark-bespectacled men in black of the Graad security team kicked the camera aside and the interview was rudely broken off. Outside of the Kido closed gates, a close-up was taken of the barbed wire electrified fence that had at one time almost cost Ikki his life when trying to save Shun from being taken to Andromeda island, and the reporter resumed:' As you have heard, the questions answered have raised even more questions. How can it be that a fourteen year old girl had been left the Foundation that is such an important economic factor in the whole of south-east Asia with only one man in charge and no other wards or outside control? What will the reaction of the Japanese government be to these revelations and more importantly, the shareholders? And where are the missing children? This is Kate Adie for the Nine O'clock News, from Japan.'

Mr. Field turned off the television.

"Good old Katie, she's set the dogs on them.'

"Hubert, did you know of this?" asked his wife with a concerned glance at Hyoga who had gone very pale.

"Freddie Mountjoy gave me a call yesterday. Graad hopes to throw us off the scent with this. They don't know how much we know yet, thanks to the floppies Miss Marini passed onto our services, and Hyoga's evidence."

" Any news from Fletcher-Parks?"

"He's on his way to England even now. Apparently he's fallen victim to a rather nasty mugging, lost a couple of teeth…still, I expect him to pay us a visit around Boxing Day." Mr. Field smiled at Miho, " a chance for you to see Miss Asatani again."

Miho gave a little cry of joy. " Minako! So they _are_ getting married? Oh, I _am_ glad!"

Queer took a look at his watch.

" Hey, everybody, if we want to be in Church on time the walkers had better set out now!

"Don't forget your gloves and caps." counselled Auntie Pauline, " Look, it's been snowing!"

Jacob whooped for joy.

"Snow! Snow! Hurrah! Hyoga, that has been your doing, hasn't it?"

The former Cygnus Saint smiled fondly at the exited boy.

" I haven't lost my touch yet. Call it an early Christmas present."

He grinned in Esk's direction as the man was shaking his head and muttering "Impossible!"

" I can't tell you the mathematics of how I did it, only that I can."

The elder Field brother groaned.

" I don't even want to know. Off with you lot! Enjoy the sleighing." 

They did. Trampling through the freshly fallen snow was difficult at first, but then Hyoga froze a path for them, and off they went. The former Saint pulled one sledge uphill with Vimi and Miho, Queer the other with Sunrei and Jacob, Seika lighting the way with an old-fashioned haw-lantern. From Linch Down they could see Bepton and Midhurst twinkling ahead, and amidst squalls and shouts of laughter they sailed down, three to a sleigh. On the snow-covered Bepton road they heard the sounds of jingling bells, and though it was not, as Jacob thought for a moment, Father Christmas coming, it proved to be the next best thing: the Field 'Oldies' in the farm cart, wrapped in blankets and hot-water bottles, pulled along by the faithful Trotter.

" Want a lift?' called Uncle Ben, " Bind yourself to the back!"

They sang all the way to Church.

Hyoga felt as if his heart would burst. This was the most perfect moment he could imagine.

The Church was ablaze with candlelight, the Priest spoke gently of the Love of God – the _real God_ to Hyoga, the one who became Man to suffer along with men, not to quarrel with his fellow Gods over the dominance of Earth and have others do the fighting- and the joy at the birth of the Child. 

" Children are our Hope for the Future." he said ," They must be cherished. As we see the little Child in the Manger, Dearly Beloved, we also see his Parents watching over him, we see his friends the Ox and the Ass keeping him warm, we see the Shepherds and the Three Wise Men rejoicing. Thus it should be for all children. May they be kept safe. This is the Christmas Message I wish to impart on you: each and everyone of you is part of the Holy Family; love each other as the Lord Jesus Christ has loved us all."

They sang Silent Night together, and Hyoga wept openly when they came to the part about 'Mother and Child, Sleep in Heavenly Peace'. 

At the parting, Queer was called to sing. He gave the congregation an impish look.

" Christmas is the Children's and the Family feast, but let's not forget the mums. We're in the Church of the Divine Motherhood after all. So this one's for the Holy Mother of God, and all mothers everywhere."

And he sang the Ave Maria in a voice that, Hyoga thought surely must be like an Angel's.

__

" Some Angel!"

"You were my Guardian Angel, sort of, and if not, He must have guided you to me!'

" Careful Hyoga, you've just escaped the service of a Goddess, don't go rushing out of one Church to go rushing into another."

" Would you say that our meeting was coincidence then?"

" We met, because I missed the tram into town and decided to walk to the next stop where I'd have a chance of catching two going in the same direction. If I hadn't, I would have been on the one that would have crushed you, failing someone to pull you back. If that's God's work, his Mysterious Ways seem pretty mundane to me."

" Perhaps, but following that coincidences kept cropping up…what with Cap being what he is, and…"

" Please, Hyoga, I don't like the idea of God using me as his instrument. We didn't fight the Greek Pantheon to find them replaced by yet one more Puppeteer."

As they came out of the Church, Hyoga saw mr. Field put a hand on Queer's shoulder and heard him say: "Well done, son."

" To remain in an Ecclesiastical, even Biblical mood, Praise from you is like Manna from Heaven." said the young man. He returned the gesture, a brief father and son moment rare among the Fields who true to their English nature were not given to great effusion of sentiment.

Hyoga felt a small pang of jealousy.

__

" Mitsumasa Kido, you were my father but all I ever received from you was pain. Were you present tonight you would not have known what the Priest was talking about. Family? Parental love? Warmth? Mamma believed in those and you murdered her for it."

Jacob had fallen asleep and lay cradled in Auntie Pauline's arms as they drove back to Crow's Hall. 

The bells on Trotter's harness jingled.

"Father Christmas." murmured the little Russian.

" Yes dear, in the morning."

Needless to say, Jacob was the first to rise on Christmas Day waking the entire household with squeals of delight at finding a huge package under the Tree with his name on.

The farmer and his wife and the girls had bought him his very own mountain bike. Imitating the boy they all rushed to open their own packages. Gaudy wrappingpaper was torn apart and colourful ribbons flew through the air and were chased by the old sheepdog and the cats. There were hand-knitted socks ("Can't ever have enough of those!") and jumpers ("Wool from our own sheep!") for everyone, handkerchiefs for mr. Field who was a martyr to sneezes ("Twenty-seven in one go is the record!")a watch for mrs. Field who was forever losing hers, books and records. Hyoga received Russian literature, a book on the Siege of Leningrad and the Shostakovich Symphony ( "It was written and performed during the siege, I though you might want to listen to it while reading, it really brings the agony of those days to life") and there was Tibetan jewellery and white silk prayer shawls for Seika, Miho and Sunrei.

" The stones are turquoises, my brother-in-law Tsarong send them to me; he is with the Khampa's who fight for the freedom of Tibet, while his brother, Lama Dorje prays for it; the shawls come from him, they are a symbol of Faith and Friendship: it means you are part of the family now." explained mr. Field. The girls glowed with happiness.

Queer's gift reflected his nature, half-serious, half-joke. Unwrapping his present, Hyoga found a T-shirt with the Russian word 'svobody' printed on the front and its translation, 'freedom' on the back. Jacob and the girls received similar shirts in their own language. They loved it.

Finally, mr. Field handed Hyoga a small flat package.

" You know what this is, but there is a story attached to it that is part of the gift.'

It was a British Passport, it's shining blue cover embossed in Gold with the Lion and the Unicorn holding the Coat of Arms and the motto 'Honni Soit Qui Mal Y Pense' As Hyoga opened it, he saw his own face looking back from the small identifying photograph next to a name…

" Ilya Sjevtsjenko, born in Yakutsk , U.S.S.R., on February the fifth 1972? But that's neither my name nor my birthday!'

" It is, too." replied mr. Field gravely, " It is a long tale, and a sad one, Hyoga, or rather, Ilya, for that is indeed your name. It all began in Lvov, in 1968, when seventeen-year old Nastassia Fjodorovna Minckiewics left for Kiev to join the National Ballet of the Ukraine. Yes, your mother was a dancer. A good one, for she was soon promoted out of the Corps the Ballet to become a Prima ballerina. Her first Star Role was that of the little bird in a stage adaptation Prokoviev's Peter and the Wolf that went on a nationwide tour ending in Moscow. The Kiev born and bred flutist who played the musical part of the bird and with whom she practised continually was called Vladimir Jaroslavich Sjevtsjenko. They fell in love and married…'

" Married! No! Mama was not married…not to an another man, when Mitsumasa…' Hyoga choked.

"Peace, son. Let me finish. Vladimir Jaroslavich was a descendant of a famous nineteenth century Ukrainian artist and author, Taras Sjevtsjenko, a freed serf who was banished to Siberia for a period for voicing his ideas of Liberty and Equality in Tsarist Russia. True to his ancestor, Vladimir did the same in Brezjnev's Soviet Russia, and was duly sent to the Gulag for it. Nastassia was desperate. However, as a Prima Ballerina of great popularity, she enjoyed privileges the common Russian did not have. One of them was that she could meet westerners staying in Moscow, among them a Japanese businessman who adulated her. She went to him for counsel, hoping that he would help her escape to the West, which had always been her Vladimir's dream, and there work towards his freedom, like was being done for Sakharov, the banished scientist. Mitsumasa Kido, for it was he, agreed on one condition.'

'And we all know what that was." spat Hyoga, "The bastard! The _filthy bastard_!!!"

" It was a very cruel thing Kido did, taking advantage of Nastassia's despair and leave, forgetting her as he had the other women that had shared his bed. She kept hoping for word from Japan, and when none came, had a letter smuggled out that proved fatal."

" I suppose she told him she was expecting me. He didn't care at the time, but later when he needed his sons for Athena's service, he had her come over and then killed so that I could join his collection. The bastard." Hyoga repeated. "Why did mama never speak of her husband? Was she too ashamed? How could she trust Kido still? She must have known him for what he was, yet she made me believe that my father was a good man with great ideas of peace and justice, and wanted me to promise that I'd help him later, when I was older. Mama…mama lied to me!"

Mrs. Field took Hyoga's hand and pressed it.

"No dear, she never lied to you about your father. But you see, what mothers most want for their children is a happy, carefree childhood. Therefore she bend the truth a little, and probably planned to tell you later…that _Vladimir is your true father!_"

Hyoga gasped, stunned at the revelation.

" We can only guess what went through the poor girl's head when she found out she was pregnant shortly after her husband's arrest, blitz-trial and subsequent exile. She did not say you were Mitsumasa's son in the first letter she wrote to Japan, or he might have got you out sooner. No, that was later, after she had herself been sent to Siberia for 'consorting with the enemy'. The KGB has its eyes everywhere, and knew of her liaison with Kido. Thus you were born in Yakutsk, Siberia, and then send further east into exile. Some time later your mother had news that Vladimir had died in the Gulag. From then on all she could think of was getting you out, to freedom, and was prepared to do anything for that. Even lying. Hence, the second letter announcing Kido that he had a son in Russia. It was then that she started calling you by a Japanese name – probably out of a dictionary- in order to turn the lie into a good one. For Kido to believe you were his son, you had to, too. What father, she reasoned, would abandon his own flesh and blood?"

" Blood is what put us on the right track." said Queer, " Or rather, Nick. The scientific cavedweller that I am did not make the connection when we talked about bloodgroups, but apparently an AB parent can never have an O child…the gene for O is regressive, and both parents need to have it, which is impossible with AB. As for your birth-date, your mother must have written to Kido giving the Russian date, January 23, to put on the false passport he was to procure for her so that you could travel*********** from the town where you lived at the time to the place where his yacht would pick you up. We follow a different calendar, and you were actually born two weeks later! So you are full-blooded Russian, Ilya, and you can be proud of both your parents. They were very brave people."

Hyoga's head reeled. It had become too much for him to take in.

"Hubert, I think he is going to faint."

"The lie…the lie my mother twisted into truth so that…so that I could live in the freedom my real father died for only gave me a worse kind of imprisonment, and slavery!"

"She did not know, son. She loved you."

" I…I…am sorry, I need to be alone for a moment…"

He went in a hurry.

Outside in the yard he fell on his knees in the snow. Scooping it up in handfuls, he pressed his flaming face into it.

__

" I am not Kido! I am not Japanese! I am Russian!"

Vladimir Jaroslavich Sjevtsjenko. His father, His poor, courageous father, Russian, Freedom Fighter, Hero.

He sprang to his feet, eyes closed against the morning sun, tears mingling with the melting snow streaking down his cheeks.

" I am not tainted with Kido blood! I am all-Russian, not Japanese! Not Kido!"

" A pity, it was the only good thing about you."

The blow sent him rocketing backwards through the wall.

__

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

Well, at least he's had a good Christmas…

I felt Hyoga deserved better parents than a hopelessly naïve girl who got herself pregnant by an ageing Japanese with multiple mistresses and little scruples. Far be it from me to say that all businessmen are ruthless bastards, but he would not have become so rich and at the head of Graad by being nice. Even in the anime, where he is less abject than in the manga, he has no problem employing a sadist like Tatsumi.

* Holy Ground: Reference to a very naughty sea-shanty. Do I need to draw a picture?

** Sussex term of endearment, not to be confounded with the same Canadian word used to spur on sleigh dogs. Note that as I never mastered the Sussex dialect, I can only give an approximation of it. My apologies to offended Sussex readers.

***Margaret Thatcher and the Tory party won the elections in 1987 for the third consecutive time.

**** Absolutely true, though the figures may have changed since

*****'Phantom cows' is only one of Europe's protectionist measures. Subsidies are given for not cultivating the land and also for not keeping cows. The idea is that small-time farmers with few cows can remain competitive on their subsidies.

******RORO = Roll On Roll Off drive-through ferry

******* Nankin; the Japanese invaders of China massacred the civilian population of that city in December 1937

******** Authentic. For more information on the Siege of Singapore, Japanese Concentration Camps and the Burma Railway, and World War Two in general, please refer to the appropriate literature, available in every good library near you.

********* El Pueblo Unido jamas sera Vencido = The People United will never be Defeated. Communist song popular in Cuba and the '60s and 70's.

********** Stephen Hawking –Theoretical Physicist suffering from severe Multiple Sclerosis

*********** A Pope in Orthodox countries is a priest. The Orthodox cross themselves from right to left, not left to right as Catholics do, and Mamotsjka is a term of endearment, meaning little mother.

*********** In the Soviet Union one needed travel permits to go from one town to another

The tragic story of the Schiller family is absolutely true.

Kate Adie is truly a reporter for the BBC

There is a Crow's Hall Farm near Chilgrove, however it is not as described in my story, nor is it a bed and breakfast

There is a large Catholic community in Sussex due to the influence of the powerful Dukes of Norfolk who remained Catholic even after the conversion to Anglicanism of the Kingdom. Similarly, southern Germany too has remained Catholic. 

For those who think I am in the pay of the British Tourist Board or the Roman Catholic Church, note that I am neither British nor religious. However, England is beautiful, feel free to pay it a visit.


	25. Family : 17

17. 

He had forgotten the feel of physical pain, the blinding agony that left you gasping for breath.

" I always knew that you were nothing but a wimp."

The voice was familiar. So was the taunt. He had heard it often enough.

"So this is where you have been hiding. Get up, you rat. If there is still any honour left in you, get up and face me like a man, Hyoga."

He looked up at his attacker.

"Ilya. My name is Ilya."

As he spoke his true name, reclaiming it for his own, he knew for certain that he had broken once and for all with Athena, Graad and Kido.

"Who cares. You are already dead. By the Unicorn Gallop!"

__

"Funnily enough, my first thought was how incredibly silly that sounded. All these ridiculously pompous names we gave to our techniques…when they all came down to the same thing: hit your opponent as hard as you can. My freezing blows are just_ another variation on the theme."_

"Saga, Kanon and Deathmask were pretty innovative with their interdimensional stuff, and what about Sorrent with that deadly symphony of his? Not to mention that Pied Piper act he put on with Julian Solo."

"The Spectres of Hades did some gruesome things too. Rune, for one, and Pharaoh…and the titles they gave themselves!"

"That was to make it more interesting, more colourful. A slugfest isn't enough; you have to dress the part. And that, somehow, was supposed to take the sting out of it. A fight to the death is not so bad if it's balletic. It's called Martial Arts, after all."

"Now that is a contradiction in terms. There is nothing artistic about killing people. Oh yes, it looks good, all that song and dance, but you do end up with a dead guy, call that Art? "

This time, he was prepared for it: he caught the blow.

"I do not fight."

"This is not a fight. This is an execution. Only because you were once a Saint do I grant you the honour of my Ultimate Attack, and the chance to defend yourself!"

"I do _not_ fight!"

Ilya Vladimirovich scrambled to his feet and turned his back on the other.

"Wha…what…?"

This was not how it went. When a Saint has made his challenge, combat irrevocably follows. Only when the opponent is deemed unworthy will he break off his fight 

"You can't walk away just like that!"

"Can't I? Watch me go."

The Unicorn Saint laughed.

"Go where? Nowhere in the world is safe for you. We will track you, find you, hunt you down until you are dead."

Ilya swivelled round.

"For the moment I am going inside to check on the damage you have done and give assistance to my undoubtedly shocked friends. They are innocents, remember what that is? Pray that none are hurt!"

"Innocent? They gave you shelter! Anyway, casualties will happen when people get in the way of combat."

Ilya was near to the boiling point, but managed to keep calm.

"You should become the new Cancer Saint: that is exactly how Deathmask used to talk."

The Unicorn Saint grew serious.

"Such is the price one has to pay for Peace and Justice. Anyway, Deathmask has returned."

He exulted at Ilya's cry of dismay.

"You didn't know that, eh? All the Gold Saints are back in sanctuary…though some had to be brought back by the combined talents of Mu, the Gemini Twins and Shaka. All except for Aioros and Sion who have been dead for too long. Dokho is the new Pope, of course, and the Libra position is open…"

"Is Aiolia back too?" Ilya interrupted uninterested in Sanctuary vacancies but very much in the possibility of a healer available for Vimi.

Jabu was momentarily taken aback by the other's hopeful question.

"Do you want to die by his hand? Forget it. No Gold Saint will soil himself with your traitor's blood. Prepare to meet your Doom!"

"Jabu, don't be tiresome. My friends may be hurt, I am going in to see if I can help them, so get lost, will you? I am no longer a Saint."

"No, and that is why I will kill you!" snarled the frustrated Unicorn

"Well kill me later!" Ilya bit back, rapidly losing his patience with the fool. Without paying him any more attention, he rushed into the house, where he was met by total chaos.

Crows Hall's lovely drawing room had been transformed into ground zero. 

The former Cygnus Saint had to strain his eyes to see through the still billowing dust clouds.

Coughs, moans, sobs, cries of agony.

And then visual: the victims.

Miho was bleeding profusely from a head wound caused by a flint splinter that had almost taken her eye out. Jacob was nursing his right arm. Skippy had fainted. Sunrei was sobbing in mrs. Fields arms.

Esk and his father were sneezing loudly.

Queer was nowhere to be seen.

Uncle Ben, Vimi and Seika were frantically digging something out from under a pile of rubble.

Someone.

Auntie Pauline, the jolly, warm-hearted infinitely generous Sussex farmer's wife had been standing right behind the wall into which Ilya had crashed.

He was beside his friends' side in a flash. Telepathically he called out to the Unicorn Saint: _"Jabu, if you have ANY common decency, use your telekinesis and GET HER OUT FROM UNDER THE DEBRIS!!!"_

He did not wait for a reply, but started to move a few hefty stones himself. Suddenly the whole mass rose, hovered, and then flew back into the hole left by the impact, effectively (though not very neatly) plugging it.

__

"Thank you."

"Pauline!" cried Uncle Ben in a dreadful voice, "Pauline…she's na breathin' prop'rly!"

A horrible wheezing sound escaped from auntie's lips, pushing forth bloody spittle.

Carefully, Ilya drew her into his arms.

"What are ye doin' lad, you should'ner be movin' 'er…"

"Shhhh…."

__

"My Cosmos, I call upon you for healing! Burn!"

The rattling breath grew thin.

Then stopped.

"Pauline!!!"

__

"No! What good is it being an almost God and all-powerful if I cannot save even one life? Oh, God, God of my parents, help me! Bozhe Moi, she has been like a mother to Jacob and the girls, for their sake, heal, heal, heal!!!"

A sigh, long and even.

Auntie Pauline opened her eyes.

"I just had the strangest dream…I was in a cold, white, dark place, and then I heard the beating of a thousand wings, and there was light, and swans, magnificent swans flying overheard…oh! Why am I lying on the floor?"

She sat up.

"Ooooh…my beautiful home…oooooh…what happened?!!"

"He happened." answered Ilya, bitterly, pointing at Jabu who had entered in his wake.

The Russian stood up to face the Unicorn Saint.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"_'What'?!" _Is that _all_ you've got to say for yourself? How about: 'I am sorry I've wrecked your beautiful home and nearly killed you.'? It's called an apology. I know, Saints never apologise, but people do. There is a first time for everything. Go on…."

"Apologise to gaijin scum? What do you take me for?" sneered Jabu, confident that because he talked in his own language no one would understand him. Unfortunately for the Unicorn Saint, mr. Field not only understood but also spoke it fluently.

"A most arrogant and ill-mannered young man, obviously." said the Englishman, dusting himself off," I take it that you are one of those so-called 'Saints'."

The Japanese boy tried to sound dignified as he answered: " I am Jabu, Bronze Saint of the Sign of the Unicorn."

It sounded peevish.

Mr. Field frowned. 

"I suggest we switch to a language everyone can follow. I have been told that you spend several years in Algeria, so you must have mastered some French. Speak that if you haven't any English. Perhaps you will also be so good as to explain your presence. I should warn you: there are laws in England about wilful destruction of people's property and causing grievously bodily harm…."

Jabu sounded even more peevish as in halting French he answered: "None of which would have happened if the Renegade had surrendered."

"Surrendered?! You hit me without warning! If I hadn't caught the second blow the impact would have brought the roof down!" cried Ilya.

"Quiet, son. Let me handle him." said mr. Field, holding up a warning hand. "Now then, Jabu, am I correct in assuming you have come for our Ilya?"

"I have come to take him to Sanctuary, dead or alive."

"Do you have a warrant?" came a voice from the doorway.

It was Queer.

A…warrant?"

"Yes, you know, a warrant for his arrest? An official document saying you are entitled to take him? "explained the youngest Field son, his wicked smile twisting his lips, " A mandate, an order, a simple scrap of paper…anything ? No? Then you can't have him. You see, the Law prescribes that even the police can't arrest someone without a warrant. Ilya is a British citizen now and therefore protected by British Law…incidentally, are there any extradition agreements between Britain and Sanctuary? No, of course not, silly of me, there aren't any diplomatic ties, Sanctuary is not recognised among the Nations. Besides, he has the status of political refugee, it guarantees his safety, that's how it works in civilised society nowadays."

By the time Queer had finished, Jabu's jaw had dropped down to his chest.

"You on the other hand have committed criminal acts in this country and I bet you don't even have a passport. Illegal entry of the territory will be but one of the reasons for _your _arrest." continued Queer. Then he turned to his father.

"I've made The Call, Cap. SIS will be here within minutes."

"Good thinking, son."

"Call? SIS?" 

Mr. Field sighed. "Young man, when we engage ourselves to protect someone, we do. Crows Hall is a Safe House. The Intelligence Service keeps a twenty-four hour watch down in the village, and we all know their emergency number by heart. I expect they will want to ask you a few questions. In your own best interests I urge you to cooperate."

Jabu's mouth snapped shut, only to open again and let out the irritating little laugh he had used in his interview with Kate Adie.

"What can you people threaten me with? I give you fair warning, my powers are considerable…."

"We know, we have seen and felt them in action." snapped Skippy, who had recovered from her swoon. She was crouching against the upturned sofa, shielding her swollen belly as her husband held her protectively in his arms, "It brings only destruction…oh…my baby…"

__

"Tais-toi, sale negresse!" *

"Right, that's it, I won't stand for any more of this." said Uncle Ben, his eyes glittering as dangerously as his Saxon ancestor's must have done when confronted with invading Normans, " Nobody wrecks my home, hurts my wife and insults my family without getting away with it!"

"Nah, Ben, he be nowt but a horrible brat, I know how to teach him some manners!" said Auntie Pauline, and before the Unicorn Saint could say 'Athena' she had him by the ear, pulled him down as she plonked herself on the sofa and him over her knee, and with a hand made rough through hard work deftly smacked him on the bottom.

"You are hitting a Saint, Auntie, doesn't that count as blasphemy among you devout Christians?" remarked Queer, amusedly.

"It's him that's blasphemous, passing himself of as a Saint in the service of a Heathen Goddess an' all. Anyway (smack!) I am sure that even the Good Lord Himself (smack!!) got a spanking from his Holy Mum when he misbehaved (smack! smack!!) !"

"Let go of me!" squealed Jabu "How dare you! You will all be killed!"

"Oh, bravo, death threats now, to be added to the evergrowing list!" chuckled Queer, " Officer, are you taking this all down?"

"Right you are, sir!"

A beefy, big moustachioed Police Constable made his appearance behind Queer. Next to him stood Sir Frederic Mountjoy, DSO, O.B.E, etceteras, agent of SIS or, as most people knew it, MI6. **

"Good afternoon." he said amiably, "Need a hand, Pauline?"

"Nah, it be al right, he's learnt his lesson now, haven't you, lad?"

"Good. Then I do have some questions for him indeed."

Mr. Field gave voice to his surprise at his friend's presence.

"Don't tell me there's such a shortage in the Service that the chief himself has stand on watch…"

"Not at all, I was at the police station on my way here when The Call came, PC Barnes was good enough to accompany me. OK, Barnes, give the lads the all clear sign and show him in."

"Show who in?"

A joyful bark, a screech, and a deep booming voice came in answer.

"Me! Mewwy Chwishmash evewyone!"

In flew a grassgreen parrot, a huge slobbering mastiff and a bear of a man: Sibylla, Janiculus and Nick.

"What on earth…you were supposed to be in Brussels looking after our house and livestock, not bringing them over for a surprise visit…it's against quarantine regulations too! Don't tell me you brought the moggies as well…"

"No, my ex agweed to look aftew them, the othewsh wewe too much fow hew."

"Nick, whatever happened to your voice…your face! It's all swollen!" cried Vimi.

The big man pointed at Jabu.

"Hish fisht connected with it. Came out of the blue lasht evening. Wanted me to tell wewe you awe…told him to go to hell…Cosht me a couple of teeth."

Anyone who had only seen Vimi in her black-dog days would never have believed what happened next. Like a cat she lashed out at the Unicorn Saint, cutting him across the cheek, then threw herself into her friend's arms, burying her face in his beard.

"My poor Nick!"

The man looked as if he would gladly sacrifice any other part of his anatomy in order to hold the frail young woman like this.

"Shoon as I wecovewed I called the numbew you gave me, and Shiw Fwedewic had me picked up and we flew ovew."

"I probably should have warned you but I did not want to spoil your Christmas, " said the Intelligence Officer, "Nick assured me he had said nothing…"

"Sowwy, musht have had a black-out. Can't wemembew a thing."

"Good thing you are a dentist, eh, Nick? " joked Queer, "Teeth…now that reminds me of something…I have it! Fletcher-Parks. All our acquaintances seem to be losing theirs of late. "

"I hope I am mowe than jusht an aquaintance. Beshides, thewe ish no connection, ish thewe?"

"Nick, stand aside please, you're shpitting, I mean, spitting. Sowwy, it's contagious. And yes, there is a connection. Us. Ilya. The Saints. We know Sanctuary got to Miss Asatani and wanted to wipe her memory, what if they planted a memory of mugging in Fletcher-Parks brain when in reality he was questioned too? "

"Hubert, that boy of yours is ripe for the Service." said Sir Frederic, "That is exactly what happened, and we have proof, too."

He produced a photograph from his pocket and held it up for all to see.

The image was fuzzy, but it did show two strangely attired figures holding a limp body of a man, behind an enclosure.

"Care to tell us who those men are?" he asked of Jabu, "The picture was taken by a surveillance camera in our Tokyo Embassy, on the exact day when Fletcher-Parks was supposedly 'mugged'. Their funny costumes, I might add, are somewhat similar to yours."

"I don't have to answer you."

"He doesn't have to." said Ilya, " The funny costumes - yes, they _are_, Jabu, both funny ha-ha and funny peculiar - are Cloths: Gold Cloths, to be precise, of the Aries and Virgo Saints. Shaka is a master in planting false memories. "

"But Reginald was mugged over a month ago!" cried Seika, " What took them so long, if they read of our whereabouts in his mind?"

"Fletcher-Parks only knew that you are with an English family called 'Field' living outside of Britain. It's a common name. They have been bothering Fields all over the world, I've checked. Like Queer I made the connection between the two occurrences when Nick called me. Had the Embassy's security been a little more efficient we would have know at the time, but they don't keep watch at night and never bothered to check their tapes."

"Hold on! " said Esk, "But you if you knew last night already that we were at risk, why didn't you warn us? Damn it, my wife's pregnant, she's had a fright, we could lose our baby!" 

"Let me guess, it's a stake-out, right?" said Queer, "We have been the goat. Bèèèèèh!!"

"Is that true, Mountjoy?" asked his father. Though his tone was neutral, the fact that he used Sir Frederic's last name was significant: mr. Field abhorred that English public-school habit. " Were you by any chance setting up your own little England-Spiel? Sir Colin would have been proud of you.***"

"You know the drill, Hubert. The Office wants results or Upstairs **** will pull the plug on the whole Operation. I have little tangible evidence to convince them it's worth the taxpayer's money. Already they have given me the nickname Mystic Mountjoy on reading my reports. If you hadn't been so adamant to keep Hyoga under your wing…"

"Ilya. He is not a performing monkey, and you should be capable of convincing Upstairs without demonstrations of a Saint's power: that's your job. Were you by any chance hoping to capture another live one? "

"Capture!" laughed Jabu, "Foolish mortals, no one catches a Saint."

With that he vanished.

"Teleportation! The only way to travel!" chuckled Queer at Sir Frederic's astonishment, " You can kiss your tangible evidence goodbye. But then, you never needed that brat, did you? I bet that while we were at Midnight Mass you've got the place wired as back-up, to get it all on tape. That is what I would have done."

"Great Scot! Lad, if you ever decide to enter the Service, you'll be running us in no time!"

"He won't." said mr. Field with perfect assurance, " His appearance and general misdemeanour notwithstanding my son has a conscience and high moral standards he will not leave behind."

"Careful, Cap, you are slipping: that's two compliments you've paid me in as many days. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Sir, can the goats be filled in on the details of the operation? "

"Of course. But may I suggest more comfortable and, more importantly, secure surroundings? That young fellow will tell all and they might come back…this Safe House's cover is blown."

"I don't think that Jabu will dare whisper a word of what happened!" laughed Ilya, " He feel too humiliated. Actually, I doubt he was send by Athena in the first place. Deathmask is…is Sanctuary's executioner, and they know that even he is technically inferior to me in strength. Moreover, if Jabu does tell, Athena will know that Sanctuary's cover is blown as well, she'll have to tread carefully from now on: the Secret must be kept at all cost. She won't risk exposure by coming in force. You've outmanoeuvred her! The Unicorn was probably meant to search for the right Field family but not intervene. In his excitement at finding us he bungled his mission. Typically Jabu. He failed to properly wipe Nick's memory and rushed out to get me, all to impress his Goddess. He always was a terrible ar…erm. Sorry, Pal, Auntie, I almost said something rude."

The two mrs. Field smiled indulgently.

"Another one who'll do well in the Service." chuckled Sir Frederic, " Actually, that's what I thought. If I were Athena I'd keep a very low profile. So I reckon you'll be safe enough. I'll have my lads do something about the mess, Pauline, I am truly sorry about that. And I won't have it said that the Service doesn't clean up after it."

"You'll need the builders in to fix the hole in the wall properly. Sent the bill to Graad! Damage done to a classified building…one more for the list" grinned Queer.

PC Barnes, who had been seriously taking notes, closed his booklet carefully and tugged his mustachio.

"That might be difficult, this being Christmas, but my brother is a dab hand with the trowel, I'll get him to come tomorrow, and if you can promise him a hot meal and some of your great mince-pies, Pauline, he'll be bringing his sons, too!"

'Thanks, John." said Auntie Pauline gratefully, "Let's all go in to the kitchen for a nice cuppa."

"Tea! The great English panacea! " cried Queer, " And we haven't had breakfast yet! Tell you what, I'll stoke up the old AGA ***** and fix us some: sausage, crispy bacon, tomato: the works. We'll feel much better on a full stomach after all that commotion. Nick, for you I'll do my speciality: porridge so sloppy you can slurp it through a straw…"

The big man joshingly cuffed his friend's ear for that.

'That's a lovely idea." said Auntie Pauline warmly, "Thank you, Queer. We also have that big Christmas Cake Miss Marini send us from Italy, and girls, will you help me make some sandwiches? Oh, Jacob- does your arm still hurt, mush? - be a dear then and check if there are any eggs. The hens are off their lay this season, but there is always the odd chance that one thinks it's spring already. My, look at us, all covered in dust and still in our pyjamas and dressing-gowns…I'll draw us baths in the guesthouse…Miho, love, come with me and I'll see to your cheek…" 

The farmer's wife was happy to busy herself making everyone comfortable, and barely an hour later they all sat at the large oaken kitchen table over steaming plates, home-made bread thickly spread with fresh butter and mugs of strong, sweet tea.

Janiculus was contentedly chewing on a bone, and Sibylla shared an apple with Queer, perched on his shoulder.

Occasionally a doughty man in commando outfit would enter to fill up a couple of pails with hot water, and from the drawing room came the sounds of people not terribly used to the job of cleaning up, busying themselves with mop and broom and vacuum cleaner.

After a while mr. Field put down his knife and fork, wiped his lips with his napkin and asked: " Well, Fred? Let's have it."

Sir Frederic put a briefcase on the table and opened it. From inside he produced something that made Esk exclaim in envy and admiration: " A laptop! I've always wanted one of those, they are the very latest thing in computers, so practical, you can take them everywhere…

"That is precisely why you can't have it." said his wife firmly, " You're bad enough as it is. With one of those you'll be off 'physicking' in the bathroom next. No way, mate!"

Her husband gave her a quick hug. The young Australian had perked up a bit, but she still looked shaken from the ordeal. The soon-to-be-mother had had a bad fright and that worried him.

" I am so terribly sorry." Ilya apologised for the tenth time, " It is all my fault. I should have been more on my guard. And what Jabu called you was unforgivable!"

" No worries." smiled Skippy, " I've been called worse, Australian white folk are terrible racists too. My people have been compared to gorilla's, and some think we are the Missing Link…one gets used to it."

" One shouldn't." growled Esk, " There is no excuse."

" The boy's Japanese." said mr. Field, referring to the Unicorn Saint, "Up till fifty years ago they were all raised in the belief that a pure-blooded Yamato is one of the Master-Race. Like the Nazi's with Aryanism, and, let's be fair, we English have the same tendencies towards the Scots, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, not to mention the Continentals. However, a Japanese of Korean, Chinese, Okinawan, Ainu or Burakumin origin is still a second-rate citizen.***** and I shall never forget how they screamed 'monster'! when they first saw the black American soldiers, back in '45…"

" Speaking of which, do you also remember the Tokyo Trials?" asked Sir Frederic. 

" How can I forget?! The whole thing was uncanny. On cannot condemn a man for a crime that wasn't considered one when he committed it, yet that's exactly what we did! To the letter of the Law, the Trials of Nuremberg and Tokyo were illegal. But in the light of the camps, one just has to rewrite the Law as one goes along, for pure humanitarian reasons. The Trials were a test case for later. That, in my opinion was the only good thing about them."

" Quite."

" I nevew undewshtood how an SOE twained fow shabotage and shtuff ended up intewwogating waw cwiminalsh." Nick remarked. Both mr. Field and Sir Frederic looked uncomfortable.

'Sorry, but that falls under the Official Secrets Act." said the latter.

" Translated that means: none of your business, come back in 1995 when the 50-year taboo has been lifted." said Queer, " At a guess I 'd say they were looking for recuperation material. People that would tow the party line, the sort one can do business with, and hang the rest, literally. Am I right or am I right?"

" Sharp." sighed Sir Frederic, " Too sharp. Yes, Queer, that is what we were doing. Sniff out the 'right' people. One can't hang them all, you have to compromise if you want to rebuild society. And believe me, it beats sabotage and killing people in cold blood. Every man Jack that was hanged had had a fair trial, which is more than could be said for the civilian victims of the War. Your father had already been doing some work in the field, pumping information from German POW's in '44, since it would be his job to pose as a German officer on the run in Japan. It never came to that though…anyway, it's all water under the bridge now. What I wanted to know, Hubert, is whether you remember Koichi Kido."

" I do indeed. The Emperor's boyhood friend and only non-military advisor. One of the big fishes, so not mine to interrogate.

I only met him once, and he struck me as a sly old fox."

" So he was. When it became apparent in '44 that Japan was likely to lose he assembled a 'peace-faction' with 'clean' diplomats, military, even a couple of ex-prime ministers, led by the Emperor's cousin Prince Konoye. In '45 he had them rounded up and arrested as 'defeatist elements' God, I remember the files, complete with very proper interrogations and all, and it was just a set-up to fool the Americans into believing there was such thing as a Resistance movement in Japan, and that they were the ''right' people!"******. MacArthur didn't fall for it, but he knew Kido was right, Japan needed people to deal with the chaos after the capitulation. Well, our Kido, Mitsumasa, was the Old Fox's nephew and a chip off the old block. His Uncle wanted to come up trumps after the war so he send his nephew to ensure that Japan's secret arms depots all over Asia would not fall into enemy hands. When the Kido Senior was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment, Junior became sole depository of the secret of the hidden depots. He started himself up as an armsdealer, selling the weapons that by right belonged to Japan to the highest bidder and pocketed the money: that was the beginning of the Graad fortune!"

" Clever bastard. I suppose that information was in the files Miss Marini found in the Kido safe?"

" Exact. We knew about it of course, but lacked the concrete evidence we have now. Imagine the scandal when we let the world know. The whole paedophile thing will pale by comparison…though as far as human suffering is concerned, that is of course far worse. But by his actions Kido has dishonoured Japan, if he weren't dead already he'd be forced to commit seppuku.******* Kate Adie is on top of the story, ready to blow the lid when we give her the green light. Athena, I mean. Saori Kido, will have her chair kicked from right under her. Graad will be finished."

" Good." said Miho with grim satisfaction, " I hope to be there when she falls. I want to see her crushed."

" You were so vindictive. In your letter to me you spoke of negotiating with Athena, but Jabu's attack really changed your mind."

" It opened my eyes to the fact that she'd never change her ways. You are a better person than I am, Ilya, you still believed in a peaceable arrangement."

" Better or more naïve? No, I had no illusions either. Sanctuary was too set in its ways. However: ' Point n'est besoin d'esperer pour entreprendre, ni de reussir pour perseverer.'"

" Hey! Translation, please!"

" Sorry, Ikki. Approximately: ' It is not needful to hope in order to undertake, nor to succeed in order to persevere.' A Queerism."

"Come again?"

" One of his quotations. William of Orange, right, Queer?"

"Spot on, you'll pass your History examination with flying colours, mark my words. William of Orange combated the King of Spain back in the 16 th century because the latter wished to rule the Low Countries as sole master, without respecting the Freedom and Rights and Privileges the people there had enjoyed for centuries. William won as far as the Netherlands was concerned, and that country became an independent republic. A kind of Revolutionary against Absolutism, he was. Like you lot, in fact."

" I should hope not, wasn't he assassinated?"

" Well, you're still alive."

"Not all of us…"

" Now, now, dear, don't be like that. I'm sure that Athena meant for the best. " mrs. Field tried to pacify the angry Japanese girl,

" She does protect Earth against the other Gods, no?"

" Earth would be better served if they settled their differences like civilised people. Humans do."

" Only some of us do." corrected Sir Frederic, " And fifty years ago we weren't much civilised either. Now, to return to the plan…the next phase will be to wheedle the people of Rodorio out from under the influence of Sanctuary. The Greek government has already been contacted to that end and is happy to recuperate what essentially are Greek territory and citizens, and we have an agent working undercover there. Especially the young are open to the ideas of freedom and being able to leave, see the world, being whispered in their ears. A life of subservience to Sanctuary lacks appeal, apparently, particularly to the girls."

" Good for them if they revolt!" cried Seika, " For centuries they had to breed new Saints, it's time they had there own say. When I lived there I had to fight off those horrible Silver creeps, and even some Goldies propositioned me: Milo, Shura and Deathmask. The latter two just wouldn't take no for an answer, luckily Leo and Taurus kept them in check. Aiolia is a thoroughly decent man, and Aldebaran's a sweetie. He used to have a terrible crush on one of the Rodorian girls, and bring her posies all the time, but he was to shy to speak up…still she went unmolested. Without a Saint to back her, a Rodorian woman would be handed from one to the other, and end up servicing the Sanctuary guards. The Rodorian men never could do anything about it. Everybody knew what was going on, but nobody spoke of it, and we fawned before the Pope in the hope that he would protect us from his men's excesses To be fair, he often did, that was why he was so well-loved."

"Hello, if Aiolia met you in Rodorio, why didn't he make the connection with Seiya? I mean, a Japanese girl in a village full of Greek people, how come no-one mentioned it?" asked Queer.

" The Leo Saint is not very bright. Besides, the Rodorians are just servants to the Saints and would-be Saints: faceless people. I might as well have been wearing a mask. Aldebaran is an exception. You know, for the sake of his girl he might just turn to our side…"

" It's not a matter of sides.' corrected Ilya, " But of what's Right. The Gods must be made to see that they can't keep on fighting for the possession of Earth, and that will only happen if the Saints, united, refuse to fight."

" A Saint Sit-Down Strike!" grinned Queer, " I'll teach you to sing: 'I'll lay down my Sword and Shield, Down By the River Side…I'll study War no More!"

Ilya grinned back. He had heard some of those Songs of Protest Queer favoured, and liked them.

The former Cygnus Saint took a bite of the home-made Pannetone Antonia had sent. It was hard imagining the feisty Opiuchus saint with an apron baking cookies, and as he savoured the taste of the typically Italian cake, a feeling he had no word for invaded him, yet he recognised it, for he had felt it before, and it was something he associated with Home and Family. 

__

"If they could see us now, Shaina home-maker, cookie-baker and future lawyer, me studying to go to school and Jacob going already…would they despise or envy us?"

You are smiling, Hy- Ilya. Care to share the happy thought?" asked Queer.

"Just thinking that the Gods have to become human again."

"They might if they no longer had any following." remarked Vimi.

"Yes there is the religious aspect as well." said Sir Frederic, " We have found an ally in the Vatican."

"What, John Paul's upset because he has competition?"

"No, we checked out the ostensibly Roman Catholic Children of the Star Orphanage and it turns out the priests weren't even priests, it was all a front to stop people from looking. A regular orphanage or a Shinto temple would not have passed scrutiny, but who will bother with a gaijin thing? Clever, but they should not have aired the paedophile scandal: the Papists don't like it when their name is taken in vain…erm, sorry, forgot you lot are Catholic."

"Thou art forgiven." said Queer solemnly, making the sign of the Cross over the Intelligence Officer, "Ego te Absolvo. What about this Tatsumi fellow then, is he ready to spill the beans now that Saori Kido has dropped him?"

"On the contrary, he's ready to take the fall for her, very bushido. The man's a complete oyster. Confesses to everything, claims it's all his own doing, Miss Kido is as innocent as a newborn babe. Still, we are cutting the treads of the web, one by one."

"Like we did, destroying the Pillars of Poseidon's underwater realm." observed Ilya, "However, taking the analogy a step further, Sanctuary may prove as inviolable as Main Blade Winner was." 

"That remains to be seen." said Sir Frederic, "At any rate we have the satellites back on line, we can actually see the place. Let me show you."

With deft fingers the man tapped some orders in his laptop. The screen flicked on and showed an aerial view of Greece.

"Zooming in on the region near Athens…there! Ilya, can you tell us more about it?"

The Russian watched with keen interest the images that were so familiar and yet so strange seen from above.

Then he pointed: " That's the great Zodiacal Clock at the very heart of Sanctuary, for one can see it from everywhere, and over there is Star Hill, where the Pope goes to observe the firmament."

"In close up there seems to be some kind of Chapel on top...it bears a cross too."

"The Pope wore a crucifix…"

"That will make the Greek Orthodox Church happy." remarked Queer, "Heathen Gods and Christianity, how ecumenical."

"Quite. A couple of Greek popes are in league with Sanctuary, which makes sense, since they need contacts in the outside world." explained Sir Frederic, "What are those buildings, the Zodiacal Temples?"

"Yes, all twelve, and the thirteenth is the palace of the Pope" nodded Ilya.

"Riveting!" Skippy clapped her hands in excitement, " Thirteen almost intact Greek temples! Esk, if Stevie Hawking would give what's left of his body for the mathematical formula that makes Saints tick, Renfrew, my professor of Classical Archaeology would do murder to have a go at Sanctuary."

Esk cuddled her fondly.

"Sometimes, my love, I think that you only married me because I told you the family farm lies practically on top of on of the Chilgrove Villae."

"It's the lack of ancient classical ruins in Australia that makes my fingers itch. I tell you, the archaeologist in me is playing up.

If I could study those buildings…"

"You'd be dead before you could set foot in one of them." warned Ilya, " Each is guarded by a Gold saint. It took us all of twelve hours to get to the palace, fighting nine of them on the way."

"Dear God, I hope that scenario won't have to repeat itself when we go there!" exclaimed Sir Frederic.

The former Cygnus Saint stared at him aghast.

"Do you plan to storm Sanctuary?! That was considered suicide even for us Bronzes at the time."

"Storm it, no. Besiege it, rather. The idea is to cut of their supply lines. To that end Hubert has brokered a deal with NATO. Though he landed a job at the Council of the EEC it in the early seventies, he's still kept his contacts with friends at the Brussels Headquarters from the days he worked there, and it wasn't hard to convince them with the proof we have of the necessity to move troops in on the area, ostensibly on manoeuvres."

"Supplies?"

"Food, clothing…the land around Rodorio is arid, it can't support the village and sanctuary, not unless you manage to survive on a handful of olives and a glass of goat's milk a day…"

"That would be hard in winter when nowt grows and the beasts are dry." said Uncle Ben the farmer.

"As a matter of fact, they could just use their powers." said Esk, "The principles of teleport is the transformation of mass into energy back to mass. Now, if they rearranged the atomic structure of that mass…"

"Whoa, Big Brainy Brother of mine, run that by us one more time in English for the lay-men!" interrupted Queer.

"Well, in theory they could transform anything into anything. Like they do in that new Star Trek series, food-replicators I believe they call it…"

"You can watch that stuff? I mean, 'Come back Kirk, all is forgiven!' All that streamlined technology and special effects, but they can't get the bald one to pronounce his name the correct French way…and the technobabble, yawn, yawn!"

"Yes, I was in stitches over all that scientific rot too, though Stevie's a fan and plans to star in an episode before he dies. 

However, with the things I've witnessed in the last hour, I'm not so sure of my Newton anymore. So how about it Hyoga, sorry, Ilya, can you change rock into bread?"

The Russian shook his head, "I've never tried, and if the Goldies can, they would consider it beneath them, so I don't think they do. Besides, it would involve exact knowledge of bread's atomic structure, one molecule out of place and you'd have something inedible."

Esk looked at him thoughtfully.

"You have a very analytical brain, you'd make a good mathematician."

"The thing is, " cut in Sir Frederic who had got the feeling he had lost his grip on the conversation," We know of regular deliveries to Sanctuary."

"How do they pay for it?" inquired mrs. Field, " Does Athena have a bank-account? Saori Kido has, obviously, but that's a recent development, how did she do it in the past?"

"We intercepted one such shipment…they pay in gold. She must have a treasury bigger than the Bank of England and the contents of Fort Knox put together. I presume that in ancient times she just taxed the peasants like any old feudal lord."

"No wonder Greece is such a poor country and it's economy a shambles." Remarked mr. Field, "It has been sucked dry for centuries. So when are you going to send an embassy, Fred?"

"By and by. We'll have to move earlier taking into account that that young fellow with the horn has warned them."

"One thing worries me." said Ilya, "The coming war with Zeus. Hades is dead, Ares has been ousted from Sanctuary - if it was him that possessed Saga- and Poseidon has joined up with Athena. Sitll, she was adamant we had to prepare for another attack, and we were ordered to train new Saints."

"Yes, the satellites have picked up on one such training session, watch." announced Sir Frederic, " I should warn you, it's pretty grim."

Once more he conjured up an image on his laptop.

The women cried out, and even the tougher men made strangled noises of disgust at what they saw.

The strongest reaction came from Sunrei. Up until then the young Chinese girl had kept quiet, but know she burst out, eyes wide with anger: "I hate him! I _hate_ him! _How can he do such things! _"

She was pointing at the screen on which, in black-and-white and taken from above but still identifiable man in elaborate winged cloth was bashing at a smaller figure.

"It's Shiryu! He is hurting a _child!_"

"That," said Ilya grimly, "Is called training."

The small figure fell flat on the ground, face first.

"If he does not rise within two minutes he isn't Saint material and will be discarded."

The little boy did not move. After a while, the Dragon Saint turned away, chose another candidate from the waiting line of children and resumed the exercise.

A couple of guards came and carted the corpse away.

The deadly silence in Crows Hall's kitchen was only broken by the sound of Skippy rushing over to the sink and blowing her breakfast.

"That was not my Shiryu!" wept Sunrei, "_She_ has turned him into a monster."

"No, she has turned him into a true Saint. One who is able to kill his enemy without compassion. I have been told over and over again that sentiment is my weakness. Mastering one's feelings is a must, for a Saint, so much so that one ends up not having any. Shaka who claims to be the man closest to God prides himself in his lack of compassion, and frowns upon his 

Pre-incarnation Buddha, who still had it." 

Ilya smiled bitterly, " And yet we are supposed to fight for Love, that very Sentiment we must hold in contempt. Shiryu used to set great store by friendship. Apparently, Sainthood and Love have become incompatible for him."

"Military training is all about dehumanisation of the enemy." said mr. Field, " When you stop thinking of the other as a man, you are capable of killing him. Regular soldiers had it easier: they were up against people who could defend themselves, mostly: enemy soldiers. We of SOE were prepared for assassination. Several among broke down during training, and those who came back from a mission more often than not were scarred for life. Killing is never easy, nor should it be."

His eyes met Ilya's, and the former Cygnus Saint realised that mr. Field knew exactly how he felt for the Englishman had once, long ago, struggled with the same questions, the same anguish, and perhaps was troubled still by his past. 

Yet without words the ex-SOE agent had given the ex- Saint all the comfort and reassurance he craved.

Sir Frederic returned to the subject at hand.

"We can assume that Zeus too is preparing in a similar fashion. It would be helpful if we knew where his hideout is located, then we could sent him an embassy as well."

Ilya shrugged.

"I haven't a clue. Well, one: Hades realm was underground, Poseidon's under the Sea, so Zeus, being the God of Heaven, should be in a high place."

"Traditionally he throned on Mount Olympus." said Vimi, " That seems unlikely know, what with tourism and mountaineering rampant in the area."

"Pewhapsh he has moved to a mowe inacceshible place…Outew Shpace? The faw shide of the moon?" suggested Nick.

"No air, low gravity, hard to get at: any other bright ideas, Nicky?" teased Queer 

"What about the Himalayas?" said mr. Field, " They are as close as you can get to heaven, and empty of tourists, bar Everest where they are cueing up to the top since Hillary…"

"Possibly. Mu might know, he was born there." answered Ilya.

"That's the Aries fellow, right? The one who rearranged Fletcher-Parks dental features with his Virgo pal. Think he would be friendly and inclined to share information on the matter with us, always provided we'd get to him?" asked Queer" By the way, what do they all look like? Can we have a close-up, please."

Sir Frederic obliged, starting with the Palace.

"Hey, is that Athena on her throne? Oh, whoo-hoo, zoom in please…cleavage! Does the job offer for the Service still stand, Sir Fred? 'Cause I'd like to apply for the position of manning your spy satellite's station…boy oh boy, great view, I mean, BIG!"

"Quirinalis, I believe I raised you to respect women and their bodies." said his mother frostily.

"The young man put up a virtuous countenance.

"I do, I do!" groaned the young man in mock-agony, "The chance was too good to miss, I'm flesh and blood after all…besides, if I may make a scientific observation, if that girl's only fourteen then she's been taking hormones. Well, admit it, Hyoga too is overdeveloped for his age, I bet he couldn't pass the pee test at the Olympics, anabolic stereotypes galore, hello testosterone! Sorry Ilya, that was tactless I guess."

"Yet probably true. Come to think of it, Previous generations of Saints were considerably older. I 'm pretty sure my master cheated on his age, for he claimed to be eighteen, that made him twelve when I first came to Kohutec, and Isaac had been training under him for already a year: he certainly looked far more adult. Given that Camu was a gold Saint fourteen years ago and training takes at least five years, he must have started in the womb."

They laughed at that.

"Is it my imagination or is it getting chilly in here?" Uncle Ben suddenly wondered. "Queer, the AGA is still burning, is it?"

"I'll check"

As the young man rose, Janiculus the mastiff yapped.

"What's wrong, lass?"

The dog jumped to its feet and gave a series of deep resounding barks. The sheepdog joined in, and the cats made camelbacks and bushy tails. Sibylla the parrot screeched.

Then the door burst open and a waft of freezing snow-filled wind threw in the mangled corpse of PC Barnes, followed by those of two commando's from Sir Frederic's SIS Unit.

"We meet again, Cygnus!" a cold voice called out.

It was Alexer, flanked by two Blue Graad Warriors.

Instantly Sir Frederic drew his gun from its breastholster and emptied the loader on the men.

The bullets merely ricocheted off a wall of ice.

"Down, everyone!" cried mr. Field, as the projectiles flew every which way, smashing windows and crockery and leaving holes in the wall.

All but Ilya hit the deck. The Russian flared his Cosmos and became Hyoga again, the powerful Cygnus Saint.

But his heart turned as cold as the air surrounding him.

__

"It is my fault, Bozhe Moi, I told them they would be safe, I should have sensed him coming, it's my fault, my fault, I won't let him hurt anyone!" 

"Alexer, I give you two seconds to depart. You know that the three of you together are no match for me."

The other merely laughed.

"I didn't come for battle like that fool Jabu." sneered the Lord of Blue Graad, " The mighty Virgo Saint did not see fit to involve me in his secret search for you; come to think of it, he never told Athena he had read that English diplomat's mind.

She ordered to let the man go. Hah! Shaka wanted all the credit for himself and put that bleater Jabu on the job, but they couln't fool me! I followed him. I knew he would screw up. All that pussyfooting around mere mortals! We of Blue Graad are more expeditive. I have a way of luring you to Sanctuary, where not even you can face down our combined forces. You should have listened to your Master, Hyoga: Love will be your downfall."

With that he snapped his fingers, and his two henchmen rushed forward, grabbing the two people nearest to them: Vimi and Skippy.

Only Sibylla was quick enough to react. Talons outstretched and murderous beak, she went for Alexer's face.

And then they all vanished.

__

End of Part Two. 

To be continued in Part Three: Ascension.

Author's Notes:

* Tais-toi, sale negresse : That's right, Jabu uses the 'N' word. I kept the original French as it will be less shocking 

** DSO = Distinguished Service Order

OBE = Order of the British Empire

SIS = MI 6 (see also part II chapter 3) This branch of the British Intelligence Service concerns itself with the exterior (espionage) as opposed to MI 5 which deals with the interior (counter-espionage)

***England-Spiel: SOE or Special Operations Executive, a branch of the Secret Service during WWII specialised in sabotage and assassination in Europe mostly, for obvious reasons, which makes mr. Field, who could pass for a German in the Far East, extra special. They worked closely together with the Resistance. Sir Colin Gubbins, head of SOE send a number of agents to their capture, torture and death in occupied territory, knowing full well that the Nazi's had cracked their code. The plan was to convince them that the invasion was to take place in Holland. This was known as the England-Spiel. It worked, but the callous sacrifices made were certainly not Britain's ' Finest Hour'.

**** Upstairs: In the Jargon of the Intelligence Service, the Boss. In this case, of MI6, traditionally a Naval Commander.

***** AGA = a multifunctional stove, as much part of English Heritage as four o'clock tea.

****** True. A Yamato is a pure-blooded Japanese (crf.Aryan).Okinawa was a largely independent Kingdom till Japan annexed it in 1879. The Ainu, living on the Kurilen Islands, Sakhalin and mostly Hokkaido are an ethnic minority in Japan closer in appearance to the Aboriginals (hence Jabu's blatant racism). The Barakumin are Japan's pariahs: families of tanners and cadaver handlers, 'unclean' professions and they are treated accordingly.

******* Authentic.

******** Seppuku = hara-kiri

The idea of Mitsumasa Kido's post-war activities is inspired by a similar story in a Belgian Graphic Novel series (Yoko Tsuno) by Roger Leloup, in which the (Japanese!) heroine deals with a like criminal. 


	26. Ascension: Arena

Part III. Ascension.

ARENA

The huge personnel carrier army helicopter hovered in a deafening roar of its rotor over the holiest of holiest of Sanctuary: Athena's temple, where her statue stood; the statue that was in fact her God Cloth. The chopper descended in order to land, and then, as if a giant hand had caught it, jerked back up.

"Thompson!" cried Sir Frederic, seated next to the pilot, "What are you arsing about for? Begging your pardon, Mrs. Field." 

"That wasn't me!" protested the pilot, " Some invisible force has taken us up and is throwing us back...."

"Ilya?"

"Telekinesis. All Gold Saints and quite a few others master it to perfection, though Aries is by far the best at it. Unlike Jabu he wouldn't do it without express orders though."

"Whoever it is, they obviously don't want us to land over there. Find us a spot, will you, Thompson? Everyone alright there in the back?"

"No we bloody well awe not alwight! My bweakfast is twying to join us!" growled Nick, struggling in his flight-harness to regain an upright position. He was not the only one. 

They were all there: Mr. and Mrs. Field, their sons, Nick and Ilya. 

After some moments spent in shock at the abduction of Skippy and Vimi, Esk had been the first to react to his wife's and sister's disappearance. In a most unscientific fit of hysterics he had grabbed Ilya and, shaking the young Russian, had screamed: "Get her back, do your magic, teleport them back!" His father and uncle had had to hold him tight to prevent him from actually striking the former Cygnus Saint. Auntie Pauline and the girls had dissolved into tears and Jacob had cursed in Russian. Queer had gone deadly pale. And Mrs. Field had quietly turned towards Sir Frederic and announced - no, commanded: "I am going to Greece, to that Sanctuary, and get my daughters back. Have it so arranged." 

"Nonsense!" her husband had cried, " If anyone is going there it'll be me. It's far too dangerous, I won't have you risking your life..."

Then all of a sudden, Mrs. Field had turned upon her husband and slapped him.

"Don't even think of leaving me behind!" she had cried, " Vimi isn't just your daughter, she is also mine...." And then she had broken down into tears. Mr. Field had taken her in his arms, comforting her, while over her shoulders he had looked questioningly at sir Frederic.

"Can be done, will be done." had promised the Intelligence Officer, " In fact this is an unexpected windfall. Athena has made a hell of a stupid mistake, kidnapping two of Her Majesty's subjects. Now our government has a good reason to act, along with Australia's, and Belgium's too I would hazard."

"Are you saying, Mountjoy, "began Mr. Field and his eyes glittered dangerously, "Are you saying that the abduction of my daughter, daughter-in-law, and unborn grandchild is a convenient excuse to do what you otherwise would not have done?"

"Of course not. I'm just as appalled by what happened as you are. The thing is...damn it, Hubert, you've been SOE. You know the drill. One must jump on the opportunity when and as it presents itself. I've said it before, short of dropping the Bomb on Sanctuary we don't stand a chance against the Goddess. We've dragged the carpet from under her by exposing Graad, but the real basis of her power we can't touch...we can't even negotiate! However, she's broken her own rules now..."

"Aleksej's broken them, not Athena." had objected Ilya, "There's a difference."

"Athena accepted Aleksej back into Sanctuary. The man himself has confirmed the struggle for power that is currently going on over there at command level. As for the girls... what just happened at last unties one of my hands. Our politicians hate to commit themselves to a cause of uncertain outcome, and in this particular case I can't say I blame them, what with it showing distinct shades of Homer. But now I can wheedle the green light out of them. I can finally do something, that is to say, go to Sanctuary, and demand the return of the girls under threat of action from NATO forces."

"I see. Well, I am telling you this not as an ex-SOE, ex-NATO Intelligence officer, nor indeed as a friend, but as a father who wants his children back: if you go to Sanctuary, I will be coming with you."

"And I!" had cried simultaneously Mrs. Field and Esk.

"Ditto." had said Nick.

"And to complete the jolly picture, I'll come along for the ride." had said Queer with a grin that had no humour in it.

Sir Frederic had been strangely compliant. True resistance to the plan had come from Ilya.

"If it hadn't been for me, nothing of this would have happened. It's me Aleksej wants: he has been spoiling for a fight from the day we met. Please, don't put your lives at risk, any of you. Let me deal with him."

"Suppose you do, suppose you vanquish Aleksej." had said Mr. Field slowly, " What will that prove, apart from that you are the better fighter? It will only continue the pattern you Saints have spun and followed throughout the ages."

"When I vanquish him it will prove that I am right." Ilya had said, desperately repeating the old lie the Saints had lived by. "I will win because I am right."

"Son, there are graveyards full of young people who believed that."

And that had been the final word. Sir Frederic called in the Office to further deal with the situation at Crow's Hall, and then he had whisked them all away on the first flight to Athens. A last minute addition to their company had been Seika. The young Japanese woman had argued that she knew the people of Rodorio and that she could help. There had been no denying her. At once Miho, Sunrei and Jacob had said they'd come too, but to that Uncle Ben had said a firm 'no', telling them that he needed them at the farm, that school would start in ten days and that as their legal guardian he was opposed to their gallivanting off. "I can't keep Seika back, she being of adult age, but you kids still have to do as I tell you." And that had been that.

Their plane had landed in the dark. Olympia Airport was deserted but for them and two taxis, like most Greek cars held together by a string and a prayer, that drove them to the Piraeus, where a kaïke*, lay waiting for them.

"This reminds me of our escape from Japan." Seika had commented, but then Sir Frederic told her that she would not be sailing along. "I've arranged for you to be taken to Rodorio, or at least as near as we can get to it, an then our contact there will come and collect you. Good luck." The others had all wished her the same, and then they had boarded the fishing-boat. It had taken them out to sea, off the coast of Piraeus, where an Aircraft Carrier lay for anchor.

"Good God, Uncle Fred, if this is what you can manage with one hand tied, I wonder what it'll be like when you have both of them free!" Queer had exclaimed. "USS Enterprise? How perfectly fitting."

"Our American friends' contribution to NATO presence. They are on a twenty-four hour call and can be deployed at a moment's notice. Our backup for when things go wrong."

"Optimist!"

"Realist."

A smallish, thickset man with a ruddy face and a genial American manner had greeted them aboard. 

"Hi. I'm Commander Mark Lawrence, Navy Intelligence. I guess you folks must be tired out so I'll show you to your quarters that you can get a good night's rest. I'll be briefing you at oh-seven-hundred tomorrow. Ma'am, Captain's compliments, he's left you and your husband his own cabin. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

Being aboard a vessel like the Enterprise had reminded Ilya somewhat of his aeroplane hopping adventure. There was the same, lasting throb of engines and smell of fuel and painted metal. 

At six in the morning an officer had come to wake them up, and after a hurried breakfast Commander Lawrence had led them into his conference room.

"The situation for the past months has developed as follows: two factions in Sanctuary are vying for Athena's favour. On the one hand you have Aleksej Piotrovitch and the Warriors of Blue Graad, on the other the Virgo Saint and his followers. Satellite surveillance has shown several fights breaking out among supporters of these factions. As a matter of fact it looks more and more like Athena is losing her grip on both. There is a third party however, that serves her alone. This one appears to be led by the new 'pope', Dokho, formerly Libra, with the Golden Saints Taurus and Leo, Silver Saint Aquila and the Japanese bronzes. Virgo commands both the Gemini, Scorpio and Aquarius and the palace guards, and the Dragon Saint, in charge of young trainees, seems to lean more and more to this faction. The others are with Aleksej, except for Aries, who wishes to remain strictly neutral. He can afford this attitude as all parties depend on him to repair their Cloths. However, yesterday morning Aleksej appeared with his two hostages..."

At that, Mrs. Field had choked back an anguished sob. Laying his arm around her and hugging her hard, Mr. Field had asked in a constricted voice: " Are they all right? Have you any way of knowing?"

"We received a last message from our contact concerning them at oh-one-hundred. Apparently Aleksej tried to keep their presence a secret, but Shaka swiftly found out and forced the Blue Warriors to hand them over. He has committed them into the care of Aquarius...."

"Are they well? How are they being treated? Did they hurt them?"

Mrs. Field had rapped out the questions with all the anxiety of a mother who has not slept a wink with worrying over her children. Commander Lawrence had tried to reassure her as best as he could.

"It is certain that they are better off where they are now than with Aleksej. During the night some of the Blue Graad warriors made an attempt to retrieve them which failed. Part of the Aquarius temple has collapsed, as satellite images show, and some warriors have been spotted limping out. At oh-five-hundred the girls were taken to the Scorpio temple: that is the latest news. We expect more from our contact any minute now."

"Are you certain of this 'contact' 's reliability?" had asked Mr. Field quietly.

"Absolutely. You'll appreciate that I cannot divulge its identity, though."

"What about Shun and Ikki?" Ilya had asked.

"The Andromeda and Phoenix Saints, right? We only know of the former. Definitely not Aleksej's man, though he hangs about his sister a lot. Unlikely to be Shaka's. We are not sure which way he'll roll. As for Phoenix, all our sources confirm that Cancer executed him for treachery some time ago. I'm sorry."

"He will return. Phoenix always returns."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence! And you were right. Of course I returned, in fact I already had...those puny Circles of Hades could not hold me back anymore than they could Shiryu. I was lying low, for I did not want anyone to know. That way, when fighting broke out, I had the advantage of surprise. Sorry, little bro', I caused you much grief then."

"It doesn't matter. I too was keeping my head down, for the same reasons. Athena lost me for good when she ordered your execution. I can't understand why it didn't do the same for Shiryu, nor why he went over to Shaka afterwards."

"I do. It was Virgo's complete abandonment of feeling that appealed to him. His own feelings had brought him only pain. More than Old Master Shaka was a man of single-minded drive. My poor Shiryu! If we had not quarrelled, maybe I would still be there for him. I could have helped. Instead, I went off to nurse my own pain and anger, and in so doing I failed him miserably." 

For the last time Ilya had appealed to the Family, his family now, to abandon. They had refused. Then an officer had entered the briefing room with a note for Commander Lawrence. The 'Intell' man had read it, and informed them that Seika had safely arrived in Rodorio and that the 'Contact' would attempt speaking with Vimi and Skippy, still in Scorpio's care.

"This means that so far everything is going according to plan." had said Sir Frederic with satisfaction.

"What is the plan, exactly?"

"Good question. What has happened has precipitated proceedings somewhat, but basically it has ever been the idea of having a number of representatives of the International Community negotiate peacefully with Sanctuary. Overtures have been made via Julian Solo and, regrettably, rejected. A team of talented UN diplomats has been formed, and is ready to go to Sanctuary under Commander Lawrence's leadership. Originally, none of you would take part in these talks; however, I've convinced my superiors that your presence will give us a distinct psychological advantage. You will go as our vanguard, so to speak. Remember that we are dealing with orphaned youths. They think of themselves as unwanted. Sanctuary has brainwashed them into believing that, and has become their surrogate home, their Masters father and mother in one, the Saints their family. But deep down, as Ilya has proven, there remains a longing for the comfort of a real home and family. In you they will be confronted with just that, and, what's more, a father and mother who want their children back. Add to that the fact that you have made one of theirs, yours, by adopting Hyoga the former Cygnus Saint. What message will that send out? Only one: there is a life out there for the unwanted. By simply being what and who you are, you can irrefutably expose the Goddess' lies. Don't be diplomatic. Be emotional. You are ordinary people, the kind they have been fighting to save. It is good that they are shown what ordinary life is like, and that you consider them, in the person of Hyoga, as much part of humanity as your own children. Hopefully that way Athena too will be made to understand that humanity can no longer tolerate its young people to be used as weapons in the War between the Gods."

"Is that a good plan? The way Ilya described it, guys like Shaka and Camu have only the greatest contempt for ordinary people and their emotions."

"Precisely. That will contrast nicely with you: the more they proclaim that sort of thing, the more they will show how dehumanised they are. With the present struggle for power going on many Saints are already confused as to where to place their loyalty. Your job is to confuse them further, to destabilise Sanctuary's hierarchy, by offering a radically different set of values from the ones they have been force-fed up to now."

"Great, first we are goats, now we are Fifth Columnists. Do we like it?"

"Do we have a choice?"

Unanimously, the Fields decided they had not. Their minds made up, an hour later they were on their way. Their flight had been uneventful, up to the moment they flew over Athena's temple. 

Thompson the pilot was struggling with the controls. "Sir, I've regained mastery over the chopper and am able to land in that flat open space below us."

"Good God man, do you mean that you haven't been in control until now? Damn it, get us down, my wife's terrified enough of flying as it is! " bellowed Mr. Field.

Thompson did his best. Meanwhile Sir Frederic punched up some data on his laptop. 

"We have pieced together a map of Sanctuary. The whole place is build around a mountain. Almost at its feet lies a ruined temple that is still accessible to the public; a narrow path along a ravine ribbons up and forks, left to Rodorio, right to Sanctuary's barracks. Beyond and a little above these is where we are: a semi-circular amphitheatre. From there the path continues as a stairway from temple to temple. At the very summit lies the great Hall of the Pope and Athena's temple. It is a pity we could not have landed there, it would have saved us quite a walk."

"They want us to follow the classic scenario." said Ilya. "Anyone who wishes to speak to Athena has to go up the stairway and be challenged by the twelve Gold Saints. Only one who can vanquish them all is worthy to meet the Goddess. The amphitheatre is where the combats are held to select new Saints: Seiya won his Pegasus cloth here. Cassios the other contestant, meant to play with Seiya and chop him to bits, instead, it was he who had his ear cut off."

"Charming. Is that what you were expected to do as well during the Galactic Contest in that 2Oth Century version of the Coliseum? "commented Queer, " The name alone should have set off warning bells to all pacifist and child welfare organisations of the world. A Coliseum is where one held gladiatorial combat in ancient Rome. Hey, for a Greek Goddess Athena has got her mythologies mixed up. She knows bugger-all about history - sorry Pal, I'll wash my mouth out with soap** later, promise- its not Ancient Greek but very much Anno Domini, build by the Flavian Emperors (right, Cap?) to hold those bloody combats -no Pal, I wasn't swearing, they were bloody- so-called 'games' going back to the ancient burial habits of the Etruscans. With these the Romans gave 'bread and plays' to the plebs and patricians bought themselves popularity for the elections. Not remotely Greek at all. Their amphitheatres would bring on orators and drama. Demosthenes, Sophokles, Euripides, Aristophanes and the rest..."

"Ten out of ten, son."

"Yesh, but the Gweeksh wewe no peace-loving pushy-catsh eithew. " said Nick, " Think Alexandew the Gweat."

"He was Macedonian."

"Shpawta? Pewiklesh? Puwe Gweek, no?"

"I won't deny that the hoplites of the Greek cities did not indulge in their annual inter-city wars as much as they did in their sporting events, but keep in mind that Greece is supposed to be the cradle of civilisation. In my book, that does not spell Gladiator. Granted: that bare-fist boxing at their Games was pretty bloody too. Still, Perikles was a contemporary of Socrates.

"Old Shocratesh shtaw pupil wash the young Alcibiadesh, look how he tuwned out. Hawdly a wecommendation."

"Oh, do shut up you two. We all know you are very clever." said Esk irritably, bending his head to avoid the still twisting rotor as he jumped out of the helicopter that had finally set itself to the ground, " Help mother down, why don't you, instead of spouting useless information that impresses no-one."

"Not quite so useless as all that, son." corrected Mr. Field, "The Saints claim to have been instrumental in the downfall of the Roman Empire. Utter nonsense, of course, Rome wasn't built in a day nor did it fall in a day, it was a gradual decline that took a century if not more. Anyway, that modest little claim rings false when it is clear that Sanctuary has copied the very worst of the Romans."

"Oh dear, I hope we won't be thrown to the lions!" said Mrs. Field with a small laugh. During the flight she had been very pale and tense, but her courage had picked up since. 

"Only if we come to the fifth temple." said Queer.

"Why the fifth?" his brother asked.

"Leo temple."

"I'm not laughing."

"Just trying to relieve the tension."

They had all left the helicopter now and were taking of their flight-helmets and straightening their clothes while sir Frederic was giving last instructions to Thompson. It was cold and drizzly weather, and they were glad of their Christmas jumpers underneath their jackets. Mr. Field wore his old SOE dress uniform, smelling slightly of the moth-balls it had lain in since he was decommissioned in 1946 and a trifle tight it the waist but otherwise (and to his obvious delight) still a good fit. He had insisted on wearing it, as it would show the Saints that a warrior could also be a father and a family man. Sir Frederic had approved even though wearing a uniform that held no official status anymore was most irregular.

"Shomeone'sh coming!"

Someone was. A grey figure in a hooded cloak was descending the steps towards the Arena. A shiver of déjà-vu ran down Ilya's spine. For a split-second he considered calling on his cloth again. He was beginning to feel more and more like Hyoga, and did not like it. _"This is how it all began, two years ago. Between the arrival of the Sagitta Saint and the shooting of Saori/Athena only a few minutes elapsed, the time to walk from the Arena to the Stairway. Just a few minutes during which we thought that the affair could be resolved by peaceful negotiation, just as we think now..."_ A wave of fear and foreboding swept over him.

__

"Sagitta, third smallest constellation in the sky, south of Vulpecula, north of Aquila; the Arrow of Hercules, hunting birds, heading straight towards Cygnus, the Swan..."

This time the arrow would be for him, he was sure of it. He would not be able to protect his family. Nothing could save them, the plan was doomed from the start, it was madness, Athena would never listen. All the Gods ever did was fight, fight, fight. All the Saints understood was violence. 

__

"Cloth...must call upon my cloth...it's still in that duck-pond in Brussels...if I call it now and strike first maybe I can...no! I promised! I will not! Never again!!"

Unaware of Ilya's inner struggle, Sir Frederic and the family had automatically followed the robed figure beckoning them to the Stairway leading to the Aries temple. 

"Dorian style, wouldn't you say, Esk? You're married to the expert. Archaic period? Skippy will be so happy here she may not want to leave."

"I'm still not laughing."

Their guide pointed at the structure rising in the distance. "If you wish to speak to Athena you must climb the stairs and pass the temples. Each of course is guarded by a Gold Saint. But you will not reach the first step! I, June, Bronze Saint of the constellation of Chamaeleon, will stop you!"

The robe fell to the ground, and from its folds stepped a young woman. Though clad in armour from head to toe, her body-hugging Cloth somehow managed to enhance her curved shape rather than hide it; yet her face was masked. Long fair hair stirred in the wind as she sprang in the air unfurling the whip that curled along her left leg.

"Foolish mortals that have dared to set foot on the Sacred Soil, you will be spared. But the Traitor in your midst will be eliminated!" 

The whip cracked.

With a lightning speed born out of training and combat experience, Hyoga caught it.

June struggled to pull it back.

"Let go!" 

"She's English!" cried Sir Frederic more in surprise than in fear, " That's an Oxford accent if I ever heard one! Wasn't the Chamaeleon Saint Ethiopian born? Pale-skinned and blonde?

Unless...by Jove, I think I've got it!"

He rapidly opened his laptop and, cradling it in the crook of his arm, tapped up some data.

"Die, traitor!" cried June. Along the whip ran a blue, crackling ray of electricity. Hyoga let go just in time. Though it failed to kill him, the ray hurled him backwards and he crashed to the tiles.

Once more the whip curled, and hit the laptop. It shattered on the ground as Sir Frederic dropped it.

"That was government property. " said the Intelligence Officer calmly, " Damage done to it is usually punishable by a hefty sum."

The Chamaeleon Saint laughed.

"Little man in your uniform, what can you threaten me with?"

The next lash whipped off Sir Frederic's cap and sent it flying.

"Another shot before the bow." murmured Mr. Field, retrieving it for his friend, " Aimed to scare us into backing down. Do they take us for children?"

"They are but children themselves." replied Sir Frederic, "They believe that by bullying and arrogant swaggering they can intimidate us. Still, they have real powers, very dangerous in the hands of the young."

Queer whispered something in Sir Frederic's ear. The Officer frowned, then nodded acquiescence to whatever the young man was suggesting. Queer turned to Nick and flashed him a signal: in swift succession he opened his palm wide, balled it into a fist and opened it again. The big man's eyes grew wide with wonder. Then a slow grin crept over his face and he winked, and put his fingers in his mouth letting out a shrill whistle. 

"Who-hooh!" he called loudly, " The giwl likesh it kinky!"

June turned to face him.

"What did you say, puny mortal?"

"You'we the kind that favouwsh Esh-Em?" 

The young woman was momentarily puzzled by Nick's strange form of speech, but when she figured out where the 'r's and the 's'ses lay, her whip swirled through the air once more to clip a sizeable chink out of the man's beard. He yelped with fright, then caught himself and called once more "Yeah, vewy kinky!"

Hyoga scrambled to his feet and made to move forward, balling his fists, and there would have surely been a fight had Esk not caught him by the wrist in time.

"Leave it, they've worked this double-act before." he hissed, "Trust Queer. He can sweet-talk us out of it, if anyone can."

"Don't listen to Nick, Miss!" Queer was calling to the female Saint as he slowly walked towards her, palms up and smiling winningly, "He's got a nasty imagination, I know, but he's a good sort really."

"When a giwl dwesshes like that, she'sh out fow something, let me tell you."

"It's her Cloth. She is a Saint."

"One the Pope, the weal Pope, would shtwike fwom the booksh if he knew, that'sh fow shuwe!"

Queer had come level with June, who appeared to be flustered and at loss how to react to the young man smiling at her in a way she had never been smiled at before, not even by Shun, though she had desperately wished so.

"It was pure jealousy that had driven me to Shaka's side, you know. After all I had done for you, Shun, you preferred Nastassia to me. I am so sorry..."

"Oh June, if anyone has to apologise it is me. I never realised what it meant to you, taking of your mask in front of me like you did, and when I met Nastassia I had only thoughts for her, it never occurred to me how you would feel about our love."

"But that's all behind us now, isn't it? I am glad you are no longer jealous of us, and happy to be your friend, June."

"And I to be yours, Nastassia." 

"Don't...don't come any closer!"

The smile disappeared from Queer's face and he looked sad. 

"Why are you so unfriendly? Can't we just talk? "

"Who'd want to talk with a giwl like that?" sneered Nick.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Queer snapped angrily at his friend, taking June's defence.

"Taken in by a pwetty figuwe, awe you, Queew? I'll agwee thewe ish plenty of it." said Nick making exaggerated lewd gestures, " I mean, hey, no Joan of Awc 'Maid of Orléans' she! I'll bet she'sh had them all..."

June gasped. No matter how well trained a Saint she was, she was also a sensitive sixteen-year old girl. The years spend behind the mask had not changed her true nature. She lifted the whip again, but Queer laid his hand softly (and carefully so as not to cut himself on the claw of her protecting glove) on hers.

"Don't. He can't help it, he was born that way. Boorish. Naturally unfriendly. Women scare him really."

"Sho she should you. What, she cwacksh the whip, you jump thwough hew hoop?"

"Must he invite death?" Hyoga all but wailed at Esk who was still restraining him.

"Relax, this is their version of good-cop, bad-cop. Years ago when my brother didn't stand a chance with the girls due to his horrible acne that made everyone but us look away from him in disgust, Nick helped him to girlfriends by playing nasty to his nice guy. Worked like a charm. Mind you, by now he can do it on his own just as well, but it would take longer."

Queer certainly was making headway with the young woman.

"Nick's not so bad once you get to know him. He's been a good friend to me. He doesn't mean half of what he says and the other half he says without thinking. He's so grumpy because he has lost a couple of teeth recently."

"And I don't mean to lose anything elshe to hew. You may considew gweat big cwacking whips is exiting ow endeawing, you big shofty, but I shee a bitch and she'sh lethal."

"Ignore him. Though I must say, I hope you won't use that thing on me." said Queer, speaking to June and indicating the whip, "I know you have probably been told otherwise but we really have no hostile intentions. All we want is my sisters. I'm Quirinalis, by the way. All my friends call me Queer. And you are June, aren't you? That is a very nice name. June is absolutely the most wonderful month of the year with all the flowers in bloom. June, June, 'Shall I compare the to a summer's day?'"

"That'sh wight, shpout poetwy at hew. Call hew an English Wose while you awe at it, why don't you? Ash faw ash I'm concewned she'sh all thowns. Won't even show hew ugly face!"

"That was uncalled for." said Queer angrily, " You are way out of line Nick, you know she has to wear that thing. All female Saints have to hide their femininity..."

"Oh, weally? It'sh hew boobsh she should hide then." said Nick, and again his gestures left nothing to the imagination.

June gave and unhappy little cry, and the whip trembled in her hand. Queer tightened his hold on her.

"Don't let him upset you."

"A worm like that cannot upset a Saint." she answered; yet her shaking voice belied the words.

"He's not a worm, he's Nick, and he is my friend. Friends stick up for each other, even if they do not always agree. He's a great guy. Of course you must get used to manners like a troll and appearance to match...though I'd be a fine one to mention people's looks!" 

He laughed wryly. "Much as I would prefer to talk to a real face instead of a mask I respect your wearing one. Or we could swap: after all; I truly have an ugly mutt, which you have to look at..."

"I don't think you're ugly!" June cried out impulsively.

Queer was visibly taken aback.

"You don't?" 

He looked down his nose, squinting, and held it between thumb and forefinger "What about this protuberance then? _'Cest un roc, c'est un pic, c'est un cap, que dis-je, c'est un cap? C'est une péninsule!***"_

"Eh?" 

"It's big. Enormous. Mountainous set within a craggy lunar landscape. I am, too, ugly..."

"He's pulling a 'Cyrano'*** on her. Oh, he is good, my little brother: he's got her where he wants her now." whispered Esk, " The 'I am but the ugly duckling' act never fails to bring out the mother in every girl. "

"No you're not...and even if you were, people should not be judged by their appearance..." said June.

"Then why are you wearing a mask?" asked Queer. Ever so gently he brought his hands to her covered face.

"May I?"

"..."

"Only if you want to."

"I..."

"Please?"

"God he's good! I would fall for him even!" said Esk.

June took off her mask.

"Nick was right. You are an English Rose.... the prettiest rose I ever saw in the garden in June." said Queer softly.

"I'm not sure if I approve of this." muttered Mrs. Field. " And I certainly do not approve of the way you talk about women. Nor would Laura, for that matter. Queer's buttering up that poor girl, taking her in completely. Had I known that you boys did this kind of thing..."

"No giwl hash evew complained. The thing ish, Pal, that Queew weally hash a Cywano-complex. You wewe too wowwied about Vimi having hew fiwts bweakdown at the time, so you didn't see how he suffewed. I did though. Guys do cawe about theiw looks too, you know, eshpecially teenagews. Ouw double-act build up hish confidence and he can fliwt and chawm his way into a giwls good gwaces, but it'sh shtill all an act, he'sh tewwibly insecuwe undewneath. Too shcawed to become shewioush."

"Yes, but she is taking him serious."

"What of it? Mother, have a little confidence I your own son, what, do you think he's a bad lot? He will never take it too far. All right, so Casanova-Queer strikes again: but he's not a Don Juan****. I say lucky girl having a nice guy like Queer pay a little attention to her."

"For heaven's sake, Esquilinus, the girl has spent her entire life on a barren island, no boy has _ever_ paid attention to her, she has no experience whatsoever...there is no knowing what she might think or do."

"Can't be helped, it's started and running along nicely. A direct hit too, I'd say."

It certainly was. June, fiercely blushing as Queer told her all the things a girl of 'sweet sixteen and never been kissed' loves to hear (and is entitled to hear at that) was fumbling with her left hand to return her whip to its normal position as 'tail' of her Chamaeleon Cloth and clutching her mask tightly in her right. Queer presented the family to her.

"Well, you know me, and Nick - he's my sister Vimi's boyfriend- and of course you've met Ilya before, Hyoga that was: my parents have sort of adopted him. The handsome fellow is my elder brother Esk: it's his wife and baby that have been kidnapped, so he is none too happy either. Next to him is my mother, you'll love her, she's wonderful, and the man in the Monty-coat over his uniform is my father. The officer is Uncle Fred, not a real uncle but an old friend of Cap's, my father's I mean. We are the Fields, by the way."

"Fields?" asked June, perplexed.

"Field. That is what we are called: Helena Field-Brandt, Hubert Field, Esquilinus, Viminalis and Quirinalis Field. Uncle Fred is a Mountjoy and Nick's a Stone. Sometimes literally too. So what is your name?"

She blushed even more deeply, this time for shame.

"I...don't know. I've lived on Andromeda Island for as long as I can remember. My Master too adopted me, when I was four years old, and when the time came, he trained me to become a Saint."

Sir Frederic came close.

"And he put the mask on you?"

"Well yes, he did, actually."

"There was definitely a link between putting on the Mask and forgetting who you are. Did not Asterion say something about it when we first confronted him? Seiya told us, remember?" 

"Quite so. Perhaps that was why I changed before June did: I had lost my Mask so often that my memory-block was shaky to the point of collapse. Then, when I utterly renounced Sainthood, my memories of my past life came flooding back."

"It was one way of keeping us subdued. I don't understand though why it wasn't imposed on male Saints as well."

"Obviously because the female of the species hangs more to the home, the hearth and family. The Mask doesn't hide her femininity, it wipes away her feminine thoughts, and binds her to the new home, hearth and family that is Sanctuary...and she will protect that with all the fierceness of a mother protecting her young. Look at Marin. She was a formidable opponent."

"That is a very male perspective...unfortunately it's true."

"I was never that formidable. Shun took me out with one blow, when I tried to stop him from going to Sanctuary."

"Yes, I'm terribly sorry about that too, at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. But remember: you had just revealed your face to me. Your heart wasn't in the fight, for you wanted to protect me, not hurt me. Athena meant less to you than I. That has been your salvation."

"Poor Marin. If only she had taken her Mask off."

"When was that? 1980? When you were...seven years old?"

"Eight; but I don't understand..."

"Let me explain. It all falls into place. The dates correspond, as does the bloodgroup.... A list of the Saints of Sanctuary, the Marinas and the Spectres has...come into our possession. Although the information is not necessarily correct - it wasn't in Ilya's case, and the files never mentioned that you are white, not black- however, we have been able to establish your possible identities by cross-referencing with the unfortunately incomplete lists of children that went missing between 1965 and 1980. That was what I was attempting to access when you...ah...took matters out of my hands, so to speak. Still, I remember the case well. Plenty of children disappeared in Ethiopia in that period, but only one white girl, in 1976 to be exact...funny how despite the years spend speaking another language you have kept your English...and even retained the accent! Lord and Lady Stafford will be very happy to learn that their daughter is alive and well, _Miss Jane Stafford!"_

He could not keep an air of triumph out of his voice as he dropped his bombshell. 

June staggered backwards. Queer made to catch her, trying lay a comforting arm about her shoulders, thought the better of it due to her spiky protector pads, and settled for her waist instead.

"Jane...Jane Stafford?" the Chamaeleon Saint stammered, her skyblue eyes large and uncomprehending."

"I don't recall the details, of course. Your father was Ambassador in Addis Ababa at the time. You were playing with your nurse in the garden of the consulate when your little sunhat blew off. As the woman ran to retrieve it, you disappeared. She was under suspicion of being accomplice to kidnappers for a while, but there came no demand for ransom. It was even thought that the Staffords were guilty of child-murder, but since there was no evidence the inquiry was inconclusive and the case closed and classified. It never was for your parents, of course. They kept searching for you. Lord Stafford spent a fortune in private detectives. The poor nurse, Nanny Roberts, was so distraught and guilt-ridden that she has spend some time in an institution."

"Starch!" exclaimed June suddenly, " Nana Starch, because of her stiff white apron that smelled of it! She would not let the native servants do the bleaching and ironing, she did that herself, and allowed me to help mix the powder and water, I loved that..."

"Yep, she'sh the vanished Lady alwight." said Nick, "Shtill callsh them 'native shervantsh'...Bwitish Uppew Classh shining twough thewe."

"But...but..." whispered June/Jane, " That means that my good master Daidalos was...was a...a..."

"A kidnapper, yes." said Sir Frederic.

The Mask fell out of June's, no Jane's, hand and clattered to the ground. A choking sob rose up in her throat.

"He was a father to me!" she cried.

And ran off, pushing past the Fields back to the Arena, where, right in the middle, she stumbled and fell, and lay weeping on the white marble slabs. Queer, who had run after her bend over the prone figure, hoping to comfort her. With a wild gesture she flung him away.

"Very clever!" snapped Mrs. Field, " What a way to announce that kind of thing to an impressionable young woman! Men! You shattered her whole world. All her certainties are shot to pieces. Oh, it takes another woman, and a mother, to understand."

As ever, Mrs. Field pushed aside her own worries and sorrow seeing someone in need. 

"I can help." said Ilya, "I know how she must feel."

"That is very kind of you, dear, but I think I can handle it better on my own, and with Queer I suppose, since he has made such an impression on the poor thing. You boys continue, try your luck with the Gold Saint over there." Said Mrs. Field as she pointed ahead, up the Stairway where, resplendent in a shimmering Aura and framed by the marble columns of his temple's cella, the Aries Saint stood waiting for them.

To be continued.

* Kaike: Greek fishing boat 

** Washing a child's mouth with soap is a classical Belgian method of teaching that child not to use dirty language.

***see: 'Cyrano de Bergerac' by Edmond Rostand

****Casanova was the 'love them and leave them' type, Don Juan the 'use 'em and dump 'em'. Believe it or not, there is a difference.

I have changed the name of the Lord of Blue Graad from Alexer (the French translation of whatever was the Japanese original in the manga) to the more properly Russian Aleksej. Hyoga is now called Ilya.

The first time I saw June (Anime, French television, 1988) I thought: ' English Rose'. If she was born in Ethiopia as is told in the manga, then her parents could not have been Ethiopian, not with a Lady Di look-alike for a daughter!

Daidalos the Cepheus Saint I made somewhat older, for the same reasons as Marin and Seika are older. He is therefore at least 25, not 19.

There really was a Commander Mark Lawrence in Navy Intelligence aboard an American Aircraft Carrier at the time. As far as I know, it was not the USS Enterprise. 


	27. Ascencion: Aries

Aries.

«"I shay, impwesshive dishplay. " said Nick as they climbed the steps to the first temple, "Like a glow in the dawk doll. Vewy pwactical fow when you have to go to the loo at night."

"Stop behaving as if it were all a game!" cried Ilya, "Don't you realise how close to death you were?"

"Being alive _ish_ being closhe to death." said Nick philosophically," Anyhow, it'sh an English thing: we tweat waw as if it wewe a game and gamesh as if it wewe waw. Tewminally stiff-uppewlipped, that'sh ush." 

"God, Nick, you sound like a cross between Sylvester and Daffy Duck. You should do most of the talking, they will spend more time trying to figure out what you are saying than trying to kill us." said Esk with a chuckle.

"We've been lucky so far." said Sir Frederic, " We won't be able to pull off a stunt like that twice. Damned, we're short an entire database, with all the files the Office has compiled on the Saints and their possible identity! I'll have to work from memory."

"Anything on the fellow upstairs, other than that he is Tibetan?" asked Esk, "You'll be able to brush up on the lingo, Cap."

"Tibet has always been an inaccessible country with a medieval system until the beginning of the twentieth century, and since 1950 it is closed again. The Chinese government has not been forthcoming, even though we warned them of the presence of a Saint's training camp at Rozann."

"That will be abandoned now that Hades has been vanquished for good and Dokho has become the new pope." said Ilya.

"Cap, are you alright?" asked Esk, seeing his father struggling with the steps, " You are huffing and puffing like the wolf in the fairytale."

"I hate stairs." said Mr. Field, " I hope Athena will be gracious enough to come down to us."

"It is part of the intimidation process." said Sir Frederic, "Destined to make us hot and tired and irritated and therefore vulnerable."

"Oh Lord, save us from children playing an adult game." sighed Mr. Field.

Almost in answer to his prayer there came a childish giggle from the rocky mountainside on their left, and the elderly Englishman was airlifted up a few feet above the ground. More surprised than afraid, he flapped his arms like a little bird attempting to fly for the first time, which caused him to vault backwards, feet pointing up towards the Temple. In that position he remained hovering.

"Don't just stand there like a bank of oysters! Do something!" he bellowed.

Sir Frederic, though deskbound for the last thirty years still had the reflexes of an SOE man and acted with alacrity. Grabbing his friend's legs he tried to coax mr. Field back to the ground. Instead he was lifted up in turn, and made to somersault a couple of times. There came another giggle.

"Kiki! Stop this! It is not funny!" cried Ilya, realising who had put his friends in such an undignified position. Diving for the rocks, he caught nothing but thin air. The giggling continued on the right hand side. 

"You're out of practice, Cygnus!"

Nick and Esk stood open-mouthed hesitating between crying out in horror or bursting out in laughter as their elders went drifting quietly up towards the Aries Temple. 

"This … isn't possible." the young scientist gasped, "Whatever happened to gravity?"

"Don't ask me, ask Newton!" answered Nick, flashing a gap-toothed grin. A second later he himself, too was catapulted high into the air.

"Whoa! You cannae change the laws of physics, Scotty, _don't _beam me up! Let go…er, no, don't let go!" 

Bobbing up and down like a giant bearded balloon he came after mr. Field and Sir Frederic.

Esk was Kiki's next victim. Vainly trying to return to earth, making swimming movements and muttering mathematical formulae to either explain or contradict what was happening, he followed the others. 

Ilya was livid. 

"Kiki, how dare you! You cannot play with people like that; besides, they have been through enough grief already. Put them down at once! I'm sure your master Mu wouldn't approve either."

"Bleeeeh!"

The little redheaded Tibetan appeared out of nowhere and stuck out his tongue. "My Master will become the new Libra Saint before long and then I'll be Aries and I'll be able to do what I want!"

"Sanctuary must be desperate if they are seriously contemplating promoting you to Sainthood, but you do have the right attitude!" said Ilya angrily, " I'm not going to waste my time with you. It's Mu I have to speak with."

Ignoring Kiki's protests (and pulverising with a wave of his hand a huge boulder the brat send at him) he hurried up the steps, arriving almost simultaneously with his unfortunate companions. The same invisible force that had lifted them now put them down, gently, facing the Aries Saint.

"Not an unpleasant way to travel." said Mr. Field.

"Quite." agreed Sir Frederic, adjusting his elegant trench coat, "With prior warning it would have been an almost enjoyable experience."

"Shpeak for yourself." snorted Nick, who had spent most of the journey upside-down.

Esk was staring myopically (he had lost his contact lenses on the way) at Mu.

Is he supposed to be Tibetan? With a generous dollop of white man's blood in his veins, I'll wager, or else he has bleached up and dyed his hair."

"Letsh check it out then." said Nick, and he called out: "Tashi deleg!"

"You've just wished him a happy New Year, Nick." said Esk with a chuckle.

"Well it is, almost. Anyway, I got it out of Tintin*, and when I was in Kathmandu nobody said anything about it!"

" They were probably being polite. I'll teach you the proper greeting!"

The young scientist placed his fingertips together in a prayer-like gesture and said: " Jooley!"

It pleaded for Mu that his expression did not change an inch.

"That is how they greet in Ladakh: your uncle Tsarong was pulling your leg when he taught you that." said Mr. Field with a sigh, " Now, if it is at all possible, will you two boys not make fools of yourselves for, say, five minutes so that I can talk seriously with this young man? I'd be much obliged, thank you."

With that he turned towards Mu and launched a sting of Tibetan** at him. The Aries Saint's thin eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly, and he answered in the same language.

"If no white man has set foot in Tibet for the past three decades or so, how can he be the son of one?" wondered Sir Frederic, studying the Saint attentively, " Yet he must be: his eyes are as green as Hubert's and Queer's."

"Maybe he ish Cap'sh long-losht gwandshon."

Esk's handsome face darkened.

"The joke is in bad taste, Nick. Aventine and Caelia were mere babies when they were lost; had they lived, neither of them would have been old enough to have a son his age: I give him about twenty-three, like Queer. Deep down, Cap is convinced his children are still alive. God! I call them children, but they would have been forty by now, had they lived. Anyhow, Cap was not the only white man in Tibet at the time, rare though it was. Maybe Harrer sowed some wild oats during his seven-odd years there."

"Hawwew?"

"German POW in India, escaped, ended up in Lhasa. Friend of the Dalai Lama's. I wonder what they are talking about?"

"Hawwew and the Dalai Lama?"

"No, idiot, my father and the escapee from the set of 'Excalibur' *** "

""Yesh, he doesh look wathew shilly in that outfit. Ish thewe any functional weashon fow that yoke?"

"All Sacred Cloths are made to resemble the constellations they represent." explained Ilya.

"That should pose a problem for Puppis Navis." said Sir Frederic dryly.

"This is all so much scientific rot!" exclaimed Esk, "The names of the constellations are culturally bound. The Big Dipper, the Chariot, the Plough, Ursa Major, they are all names for the same thing! Besides the stars change position over time. In a couple of millennia, the sky will look completely different at night. Plus it all depends on which stars you chooses to connect. Orion may look pretty obvious to us, but in the Southern Hemisphere he stands on his head: the Aboriginals see him as a bird, and the Maori as a pirogue. "

"The Saints are protected by their constellations." said Ilya, " When they die their essence joins the stars and they give guidance to their successor from the heavens."

Esk groaned.

"The _Sun_ is a star, and you are more likely to be influenced by your wardrobe than by a fiery ball of gas light-years away! Astrology! Superstitious nonsense and unscientific clap-trap!"

"That is what you used to say about telekinesis." Sir Frederic remarked.

Esk rolled his eyes. 

"I give up! I hope this will turn out to be a very bad dream and I wake up from it soon!"

He ambled over to his father.

"Cap, could you continue your conversation with Golden Boy in a more common language so that we can all understand?"

"We can if you can keep a civil tongue in your head, son." Mr. Field replied, "This, by the way, is Mu. He has been telling me how Vimi and Skippy arrived. They are fine, apparently."

He turned back to the Aries Saint.

"My wife will be here presently. Would you be kind enough to reassure her as well? We should be on our way to Athena."

The delicate eyebrows knotted into a frown. 

"Danger lies ahead for you, " said Mu, in a slow and heavily accented English, " Death for Hyoga. Do not continue."

There was genuine concern in his voice. 

"I appreciate that, but my daughter, my daughter-in-law and my future grandchild are being held hostage I have already lost two children, a long time ago. I won't lose any more."

Mu's eyes grew wide with wonder.

__

"And well they should, this must be the first time a Saint is confronted with a father who cares about his children; or children cared about at all." thought Ilya, as he observed the scene. 

"Do not go." insisted Mu, "I will not harm you, nor would Aldebaran or Aiolia, though they will stop you. But you will never come to the Leo temple: Gemini will banish you to another dimension, and Cancer will kill. As for the others…"

He left the rest of the sentence unspoken, but all could guess what he meant.

"Nevertheless." said Mr. Field.

"Cap, may I speak with Mu privately for a moment?" asked Ilya politely. 

Mr. Field cast a glance at Sir Frederic, who shrugged.

"Go ahead, son."

Mu's eloquent eyebrows rose slightly.

"Son?" he asked, switching to classic Greek, "What does that mean, Hyoga?"

"It means that I am part of their family." answered Ilya , " It means that I know all about the crimes Kido committed and Athena abetted."

Briefly and without emotion, the Russian told Aries what had happened to him in the past few months, carefully omitting the part the former Opiuchus Saint had played in it.

"Most of all it means that I will no longer be manipulated or lied to. Nor will the rest of Humanity. That is what we have come tell Athena, as well as demand the return of the hostages."

"You will not reach beyond the third Temple." Mu informed him calmly, " Aldebaran you might talk into letting you pass, the Gemini, never. Saga has a debt he wants to pay, to prove his unswerving loyalty to Athena, as for Kanon…you know how ruthless he is. He will surely kill you."

"Undoubtedly. That is why I need your help, Mu. There is nothing I can do or say to stop these people from going on; yet I would see them safe. You can teleport them away. Then it will be just me against the Saints. Will you do that?"

Mu considered.

"They seem quite determined, and may not like what you are planning to do."

"Of that I am sure, and I hope they will forgive me. I have seen too many loved ones die, some by my own hand. I won't be responsible for their deaths as well."

"Without your Cloth you don't stand much chance alone, either."

"Mu, I don't want to fight. I won't kill any longer! How I am going to get through to Athena I don't know yet, but I have to try. If I am killed in the process, so be it. But I cannot wear the Cloth again: it is a trap. It turns you into a Saint. It will turn me into Hyoga once more! If I am to die, it will be as Ilya Vladimirovitch Sjevtsjenko!"

"I hope you two realise that we all took Classic Greek in school." interrupted Sir Frederic, "Mine's a little rusty, and you weren't exactly talking Homer, but I got the zest of your conversation. Maybe I did not make it quite clear to you, Ilya. This operation is neither about you against the Saints nor about us against the Saints. We are not going to have another repeat of your Battle for Sanctuary or your interminable God-Wars. We are not the Enemy, and no more is Athena. Humanity has passed the stage of such primitive black-versus-white thinking, I hope. So we have come to talk as two reasonable factions have to do to come to a compromise and avoid overt hostilities. If this is ever to be resolved, there exists no other way. You have been repeating yourselves for centuries, but the World has changed. Humanity has evolved beyond you!"

"Amen to that!" cried Nick, " Though you may not like to heaw it. Hawdly anybody doesh, when told they awe dinosauws that eithew have to adapt ow face the fact that they awe obsolete."

"Is that what you plan to say to Athena?" asked Mu with a slight smile.

"A little more diplomatically, but yes, that is about it." answered Sir Frederic.

"Not us, though: the official delegation of diplomats that comes after us will. " said mr. Field, " We are merely a family. Ilya, you are a good boy but you can't take it all on yourself. Don't try to protect us. What little I know of your parents makes me certain that they would wish to protect you instead. Having placed myself in loco parentis I will strive to do the same."

A look that kept the middle between surprise and delight crept over Mu's face. Gingerly, he placed a hand on mr. Field's chest, as if to better convey the sentiments he struggled to find words for.

"You are a good man. You are all good! Luck for Ilya. I will help you. Come with me." 

He gestured them into his Temple.

"Wait, what about mother and Queer? They are still with that Chamaeleon girl June or Jane or whatever; shouldn't we send for them?" asked Esk, looking over his shoulder in the direction from where they had come, and then gave a great cry: " Look at that thing! It's burning!"

They all turned to see what he was pointing at. Rising like a torch from a crevasse along the path to Rodorio stood the giant Zodiacal Clock, eleven of its flames burning brightly, the twelfth, at the Aries sign, fading fast.

Both Ilya and Mu exclaimed in alarm. 

"The Clock has been lit! That means Sanctuary has officially declared you enemies, and all may challenge you!" said the young Russian, his face twisted with fear for his new family, 

"You must turn back. Every Saint loyal to Athena is now honour-bound to kill you."

"Odd intewpwetation of honouw Sanctuawy hash"

"You don't understand!" wailed Ilya, " They will kill you: no talking, no explaining, no diplomacy, they won't listen! You are doomed if you don't turn back!"

Sir Frederic looked hesitant and doubtful, but mr. Field shook his head. Esk copied his father and Nick, while biting his lip, did the same. 

Mu looked from the one to the other. Slowly he raised one arm, forefinger outstretched. His aura glowed about him. In the sky above, something glimmered, growing bigger as it hurled towards them in a whiff of icy air, like a comet.

It was a box. Over Ilya it hovered, broke open and poured its contents.

"Nooooo!" screamed the Russian, " Mu, don't! Please! I told you, I will not be a Saint anymore! Don't do this to me…_I will not wear the Cloth again!_"

__

"It was the most dreadful moment of my entire life, next to watching my mother drown. I was absolutely terrified of what the thing would do to me. Mind you, I didn't know as yet that the Cloths were instrumental in the process of indoctrination. Housing the spirits, or part of them anyway, of all its previous wearers it was the most formidable enemy anyone could face. "

"And yet as a protection it only served up to a certain point. Taking off the Cloth had a similar effect to keeping one's eyes permanently closed, Shaka's big thing. By voluntary making yourself vulnerable, you opened your spirit to the Seventh Sense."

"Once a Saint had reached that stage, their indoctrination was complete and the way back closed, or so everyone assumed."

"Lucky us that it did not turn out to be so."

"Didn't it?" 

"Nooo!" Ilya screamed again as the Cygnus Cloth broke apart and its separate components started to fit themselves to his body. The cold metal enclosed him like straightjacket, its Power seared through him opening wounds he had thought closed and healing, leaving them raw and

bleeding again. 

His Mother. Camu. Isaak. The killing of the countless, nameless others. 

The death of Seiya.

He fell to his knees.

"I can't, please, no, I can't…please…It hurts too much!"

"To be a Saint is to suffer." came the voice of Mu, towering over him, pitiless; and then the Aries Saint was kneeling by his side, his green eyes boring into Ilya's blue ones, "Will you not risk for your family what you did for Athena? You are strong. You have cast aside the Cloth once before and denied the Goddess. I, who am older than you and believed myself to be stronger, wiser, better…I, Mu, have not had that strength or courage, though my heart beats as yours. Athena walks a path that will lead to War and to ruin, for Olympos will not tolerate her breach of the age-old rules of the God-game. She may even win it: but it will certainly mean the perdition of all our Souls. Hyoga…Ilya…I am with you."

Without explaining his enigmatic words further, Mu took the younger Saint by the shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. In Greek he added: "Protect your family. I shall go ahead and speak to Athena first: that may pave the way for the rest of you. She alone can turn the Clock back. Kiki will fetch those still left behind. "

"But…how will reach Athena without passing the Temples? If you do, your fellows will attack you too. Teleportation works only from the outside to any given Temple, or from Temple to Temple, and going down."

"I intend to take another route. The Mountain is steep and hostile to those who attempt climbing it, but it is not unsurpassable. Marin managed. And I am a Mountain man!"

Suddenly, Mu's eyes took on a cheeky glitter and he grinned the lopsided grin that was so typically his. "Did you think I spend all of my years in Jamir sitting around and meditating, waiting for Saints to come and have their Cloths repaired? I've climbed a fair few mountains in my time, and Greece is hardly the Himalayas!"

"OK, that went too fast for me." said Esk, " I dropped Greek in fifth year anyway. Translation, please, Saint Michael Lookalike."

Ilya's heart sank. He did resemble the Archangel in his winged God-Cloth, and hated it. He did not want the Fields to think he placed himself on the same level as God's fighting Angel, although, with their customary irreverence towards the Deity, they would not mind him reeking of blasphemy. 

Instead, the Fields quickly discussed what was to do. Sir Frederic approved of Mu's plan, but mr. Field looked intently at the Aries Saint as he said: "You are committing yourself to a venture without certain outcome, other than death."

"Death comes." said Mu, his face serene.

"Yes, and at my age one is prepared for it. You on the other hand are young. You have so much living to do yet, so much to look forward to…"

"Life is good." affirmed Mu, " I do not wish to die."

He turned to Ilya.

"This…is too difficult. Tell them that I wish…I wish my own father looked out for me like he does for his children. You are very fortunate."

"I know."

It seemed as if Mu wanted to say more, for his lips trembled, and he swallowed. Then, with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

"That went wathew well." remarked Nick.

"Rather! Lets go then!" agreed sir Frederic. 

In passing, the Intelligence Officer clapped his hand on Ilya's shoulder and spoke softly: 

"Lad, I've had many men serving beside and under me, and I've seen them flag and fail, and then seen them doggedly go on, while trembling with fear or bereft of all hope; and there were times that I cursed the uniform. Never, though, have I seen such courage as yours. " He added, even more quietly: " One never stops being a soldier once one has donned the uniform, you know. The trick is to know when one has to _be_ a soldier and when not. I have every confidence in you knowing when… and we are there to help you through." 

The Englishman gave Ilya a small nod and began to ascend the Stairway to the Taurus Temple. Nick and Esk followed, but mr. Field lingered, staring at the spot where Mu had disappeared.

"A very likeable young man." he murmured, "Somehow he seems familiar. Ah, well, that must be his Tibetan side. He is obviously a half-breed like my late wife was. Yes, that must be it." He sighed, braced his shoulders and went after his sons. 

Ilya too, sighed. He was not happy with being unable to change the Field's minds. This meant they would see things through till the end, and the end would be bitter, for he felt sure they would all die.

And yet they were no longer alone. June had let them pass, and Mu had placed himself squarely on their side. Somehow sir Frederic's plan of winning the hearts and minds of the Saints was working against all odds. What was it that Mu had said? That he wished his own father to have been so caring. Did the Aries Saint remember his parents still, Or perhaps, again? 

__

"Maybe they, too can be identified and found for him. If we survive, I'll ask my friends to do that. Knowing him, Cap will probably have thought of that already. We owe it to Mu!"

Happy that the Aries Saint was a friend, he too started to climb the Stairway.

__

To be continued

Author's notes :

*Read: Tintin in Tibet

** There are many Tibetan dialects. As Mr. Field's brother-in-law Tsarong is a Khambo, it is likely that he chiefly knows the dialect of the nomadic people of Kham province.

*** The 1981 Boorman- movie of course, not the sword.


	28. Ascension: Taurus

Taurus.

Down in the Arena mrs Field had managed to coax Jane into removing her spiky shoulder-pads. She took the girl in her arms. Sitting side by side on the front tiers of the Amphitheatre's seats, Jane had buried her face in the older woman's chest and was sobbing uncontrollably as mrs. Field rocked her gently to and fro' like a baby, murmuring comforting words in her own tongue, which the girl didn't understand but nevertheless found soothing.

Queer was looking on with the embarrassed air common to every male confronted with weeping women. Fumbling in his pocket, he produced a neatly folded handkerchief and silently passed it on to his mother. After dabbing the girl's puffy eyes and salty cheeks with it, she flapped it open and held it to Jane's pink and runny nose.

"Blow." she commanded. The girl meekly obeyed.

"I…I've got parents!" she stammered, between blows and sniffs, " And…and they want me!"

She let out a wail.

"Yes dear." said mrs. Field with a smile, " Come to think of it I believe I actually met your mother. Oh, at least ten years ago or more, when my husband and I were invited to the Queen's Garden Party. The Staffords, being one of the oldest family's in England –dating back to the War of the Roses if not the Conquest – were present as well: their first real public appearance since you had been kidnapped. As the wife of someone from the wrong side of society –yeoman farmers are not quite upper class, even if the Fields _do_ go back to the Conquest- and a Civil Servant in (oh horror!) Brussels, and on top of that all a foreigner, I was naturally snubbed by the Ladies of Court, but not Lady Stafford! She was very kind…I remember now how sad she was, too. My dear, she will be overjoyed to have you back."

"My mother." hiccupped Jane, "How could he! He knew! He must have known I wasn't an orphan!!"

"Your master? I doubt he was entirely responsible." said mrs. Field, " He obviously sensed your potential and felt that the hurt to your parents was but a small price to pay. That was what he had been taught: who knows if _he_ was not a stolen child as well?"

"He wasn't the one who had to pay the price, though." said Queer angrily.

"Quirinalis, a soldier and commander has to make such decisions all the time." admonished mrs. Field, " Do not judge so lightly a young man who has been conditioned to think in terms of the greater good. Jane's master was as much a victim as she is."

The young Chamaeleon Saint dissolved into tears once more.

__

"The decision my master made was pointless. Whatever potential he sensed in me, it was never enough to justify kidnapping a child: I never made more than Bronze, and that after Shun who came much later to Andromeda Island. It all boils down to the same old story, over and over again. Saints have been duped into blind obedience and acceptance of Master, Fate, Goddess and whatnot. A few years in the Cloth and everything becomes subservient to their Sacred Mission. "

"It is as sir Frederic said: you have to know how to stop being a soldier. Some, like Marin and Shiryu, didn't. Others wouldn't. But Pal was right: there are only victims in this story, even the Saints that went bad."

"Especially those."

"What about the Gods? Victims too?"

"Only of their own lust for power. Otherwise, they are perpetrators throughout."

"Perhaps… perhaps they went too far to the Other Side, and could not find their way back anymore. Their Godhood had become their Cloth, and they could not leave it: as much victims as any of us."

"You have that kind of happy nature that tries to see good in everyone, Shun. I envy that ability, little bro'. "

I think we are going to need another handkerchief." said mrs. Field lightly, " I have one in my handbag, but it has been used I'm afraid." 

She delved into the bag, and gave a triumphant cry: " I have something better! Chocolate!"

Mrs. Field held up a sizeable bar of Cote D'Or, the world's finest chocolate ever. * 

"Oh, _mother_, this isn't something you can make better with a hug and a kiss and a sweet."

said Queer crossly.

"No, but it _is_ nice to eat." said mrs.Field, breaking off a largish chunk, "Besides I am feeling peckish. There is nothing like a little bit of something to cheer you up, particularly when it is Belgium's best."**

She offered a piece to Jane, but before the girl could take it, it was whipped out of mrs. Field's hand. A small red-haired child appeared out of nowhere, squalling with delight and stuffing the piece in its mouth with cries of: " Chocolate! Yummy!"

"Rotjoeng! Da's Jane's" cried Queer, momentarily dropping into his native Brussels's dialect. Like Ilya before him, he dove for the boy, with as little result. He landed hard on the worn marble of the Arena.

"Ouch."

"Oh, have you hurt yourself?" cried Jane, jumping to her feet and at his side in a flash. Queer moaned, theatrically. " Rather! I should have remembered that _I _am not a Saint, and Saintly antics are not for me. " he grinned. Despite her tears, Jane grinned back. 

Thompson the pilot, who from inside the helicopter that was resting at the very edge of the Arena, had been able to follow it all, rushed out to help. Just as he was about to nail the Aries' Saint's small apprentice, the child turned and pointed at him: the hapless Englishman was cast in the air, and back, with a bump. 

The little boy grinned, too.

"Chocolate! More?"

"Not for naughty brats." said mrs. Field, throwing the bar back into her handbag and snapping it shut with an angry 'click'. 

"I take then!"

The bag was neatly lifted from the Belgian woman's arm by the same invisible force that had thrown Thompson. 

"Chocolate!" giggled the child, and vanished, only to reappear several steps up the theatre, rummaging through the bag and throwing out brush, powder-compact, diary and wallet before reaching the chocolate. "Mine!"

He had not counted on Jane. With Saintly speed she leaped towards him, grabbed him by the back of his sleeveless tunic and lifted him up. "You little thief! Give that back to the Lady!"

The child screeched and let go of the bag. It went tumbling down the steps, spilling its contents. 

Mrs. Field picked it up. 

"You deserve a spanking, indeed you do!"

"What did she say?" asked Kiki in Greek, his command of the English language being minimal.

"That she'd like to visit your bottom with the back of her hand; and she should. Maybe _I _will: your behaviour is unworthy of a future Saint. Actually, it isn't. Saints steal children, so why should they stop at handbags? It is plain wicked and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Mu's order's! I'm to bring you lot to the other fellows at Aldebaran's place! Put me _down!_"

"Only if you apologise."

"I do! I do! I'm sorry! Ouch"

Jane had released him in the middle of his apology.

"Is Mu helping these people then?"

"That is what I said, didn't I?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Queer, who had only taken Latin in school. Jane quickly explained.

"Seems like we have found ourselves a friend and ally in that Mu person." said the young man after she had finished, and then he took her hand. " Two friends?"

The Chamaeleon Saint blushed. 

"Are you all right, Ma'am? " asked Thompson, having scrambled to his feet and limping towards them, rubbing his side.

"We are fine, more or less, thank you. I think we ought to send a message to headquarters, informing them of our progress." Even if Mr. Field had gone back to 'Civvie Street'*** when he left NATO to work for the EEC instead, military talk had not quite left the family's vocabulary.

"I'm afraid the radio is not working properly, Ma'am. Lots of static. Even the new-fangled cell-phones we came equipped with aren't any good: I tried hailing the Colonel on his mobile and it didn't work. It's a bugger, begging your pardon, 'cause I was supposed to update Commander Lawrence on the hour. I could try taking off: we still had contact before we landed, perhaps the interference is less when airbound, but I dare not risk it, what with telekinesis making us fly about all the time…"

He cast a nasty glance at Kiki.

"Well, I think you had better try. I will go on ahead with the boy, and perhaps you, Queer, and Jane can wait till Thompson has confirmed that he has succeeded in making contact, and then follow."

Queer frowned at the little Tibetan.

"Is that wise? We only have his word for it that Mu is on our side."

"Kiki would not lie about an order coming from his Master." said Jane.

"Very well then. Just tell him to take care of my mother, or I will have his bottom's hide, somehow!"

With that threat hanging over him (and Jane had added that she would see to it that Queer would get his wish), Kiki promised to be good. Ever so delicately he 'picked ' mrs. Field up and levitated her across the Amphitheatre to the Stairway.

"Uncanny." said Thompson, " I've flown a fair few funny missions in my time, but this one beats all. "

"Let's send that message quickly;" said Queer, taking Jane's hand again, " The Commander will be able to pass it on to England, so that your parents will learn that you are alive too! Won't it be grand to have them waiting for you on the Enterprise when we return?"

"It feels so weird having a father and mother! Yours are very nice."

"They have their moments. We don't always see eye to eye, but on the whole we agree, and the good thing about them is that even when they don't they will support you through thick and thin. Thompson? Shall we?"

"Right-ho…hey! Look at that thing! It's like a cross between Big Ben and the great Pharos of Alexandria!" Thompson was a high-ranking officer, picked for the mission precisely because he was well-educated and knowledgeable of Greek History and Mythology.

The pilot pointed at a giant tower they had been too busy to notice at first, with a clockface on which eleven flames were burning bright as a twelfth was guttering and went out.

Jane was as dismayed as Ilya and Mu had been on discovering that the zodiacal clock had been lit. While they all bundled into the helicopter, she explained the function of it. Thompson flew a couple of laps around the bright clockface, examining the zodiacal symbols on it. "Definitely inspired by Big Ben. Can't be older than 1860 or thereabouts. Wonder what makes the light: looks like St.Elmo's Fire to me. Ah! Enterprise is hailing us! We're back in range!"

Commander Lawrence was quickly put up to date, and he promised to do the necessary for Jane. "Phase two of the operation was supposed to start in 22 hours." The American informed them, " Since Athena has officially declared war we must put it on hold and advise. However, the evacuation of Rodorio will now be our top-priority. The order will be given to our agent in the field as of now: be ready to intervene if necessary, and report on the hour. Over."

"Message understood. Over and out." 

"What now?" asked Jane, after Thompson had safely landed again.

"Now we follow the others. Hello! Someone's coming!"

From the direction of Rodorio, two women came running. As they drew close, Queer recognised one of them: it was Seika.

Totally out of breath they arrived at the helicopter.

"Queer! Sir Frederic! Where is Sir Frederic!" panted the Japanese girl, all but collapsing in the young man's arms, " Quick, oh, quick!" 

"Seika! Calm down. Explain. Has something happened in Rodorio?" 

"Yes…yes, it's Aleksej! He was so incensed at Shaka taking charge of Vimi and Skippy and being beaten by the Saints that he is venting his anger on the poor villagers with his men. Shaina is holding them off…"

"Shaina? You mean Antonia Marini? So she is the mysterious agent uncle Fred was talking about. "

"Yes, of course." said Seika impatiently, " Who else? Nobody knows that she is involved with us, though they will have guessed by now. She is strong, but outnumbered…she told me to get Hyoga, I mean, Ilya, and oh! What is June doing with you?"

"Her name is Jane, and she too is a friend. Who is the girl?" 

The young woman who had come with Seika, a dark haired beauty with classical profile, barefooted and dressed in rough homespun, burst into tears and a flood of Greek.

"Her name's Melina. She is Aldebaran's girlfriend. If Antonia had not intervened in time, a Warrior of Blue Graad would have raped her! "

"Right." said Thompson, taking charge, "Agent Marini will get the reinforcements she has demanded. Miss Stafford, am I right in assuming that you are a reasonably powerful Saint yourself? Can we count on you helping out until Ilya has been warned? Queer, you have to inform him. Take the girls. I shall take the chopper up and out to Rodorio. "

"Understood." " said Queer, and to Jane: " Be careful, will you? Don't get yourself killed or anything."

The Chamaeleon Saint smiled.

"Don't worry! I will teach those Blue Graaders that even a Bronze Saint is worth ten of them!" 

In a flash of crimson light she reassembled the parts of her Cloth she had discarded previously, and was gone in the blink of an eye. 

"Teleport! The only way to travel!" sighed Queer half-enviously.

Meanwhile Seika had translated Thompson's orders for Melina. The Greek girl nodded and said something fast.

"She wants to go to Aldebaran: she says he will help if she asks him to." 

"Excellent. Go!"

The three young people dashed off. Across the Arena, down the short stony road that led to the stairway and up, up, past the now empty Aries Temple, up, up, until they were stopped in their tracks by the glow of the mighty aura that surrounded the Taurus building. Mrs Field and Kiki were standing outside in the cella, the old lady terrified, the boy hesitant.

"Children, don't come nearer! They are fighting!" cried mrs. Field.

"Dad! Dad's inside" shouted Queer, going white, "And Nick and Esk!" 

Throwing all caution to the wind he rushed in, Melina hard on his heels. Seeing her youngest child plunge headlong into danger, mrs. Field no longer hesitated and would have gone after them, had Kiki not jumped in front, arms outstretched to bar the way. "No! My Master told me to keep you safe and I will!"

"My sons and my husband are in danger!" sobbed mrs. Field.

Seika cast her arms about the older woman.

"There is nothing we can do for them. We must trust in Ilya's strength and Aldebaran's love for Melina: she alone can talk him out of it."

Inside, the Taurus Saint had abandoned his usual stance of watchful repose and stood braced for impact, palms outstretched, holding back a whirlwind of minuscule snowflakes Ilya was throwing at him, his legs encircled by the glittering rings of the Koliso.

The temperature in the Temple was extremely sub-zero: Sir Frederic, Nick and mr. Field and his son had succumbed to it and were lying inert on the ground. 

"Hey! Ilya!" called Queer, " Stop it! You will freeze us all to death!"

The Cygnus Saint made no answer.

"Help…me to pull them…out!" cried the young Englishman through chattering teeth at the Greek girl shivering behind his back where she had found some shelter. Together they dragged the four men to the safety of the cella, where mrs. Field held her son while calling out her husband's name. 

"Okay, things have just started to go badly wrong." said Queer, "Let's hope …whoa! Girl! Don't!"

Melina had run back into the Temple. "Albi!" she called out to the huge man in the Golden Cloth, " Albi, please, please stop, these are friends, oh, please, beloved, help us!" 

Aldebaran opened his eyes. They went wide with the shock of recognition.

"Melina!" 

His stance faltered. The great Taurus Saint went down on one knee: only his right hand still held back the Diamond Dust attack of Ilya – no, Hyoga's, the young Russian had completely reverted to his Saintly persona- and his left , too was encased with ice, as were both his legs.

Melina flew at him, and was caught in the storm. Within seconds she was wrapped by sheets of thick, cutting ice. The Taurus Saint bellowed like an animal in pain, and attacked. Another wave of cold swept over him.

Outside, mr. Field had come to. 

"The big fellow…would not listen. Then Ilya…Ilya…" he halted. "Where is the boy?"

"Still inside, turning the place into Antarctica." said Queer.

His father staggered to the entrance of the Temple.

"Cap, you are not thinking of…dad! This is insane!" 

""Ilya!" mr.Field called, feebly, from the doorway, " Ilya, son, stop."

Whether it was his name, his true name, or mr. Field calling him son that broke through his concentration, Ilya could never say, later.

The Cygnus Saint called back the storm. Then, the full force of the Horn of Taurus hit him midriffs, and sent him flying backwards, through the wall. Had Kiki, on the other side, not pulled up his own version of Mu's Crystal Wall defence, mrs. Field and her companions would have been crushed to death by the debris that descended on them. 

Clouds of stone-dust made them all cough and gasp for breath; it settled down on the prone figure of Ilya.

"Oh, nee, nee, de arme jongen!"**** cried mrs. Field.

Still coughing, she staggered over to where the Cygnus Saint lay, felled by the violence of Aldebaran's attack. Lightly she tapped him on his cheek. 

"Ilya? Ilya? My dear, can you hear me?"

The Russian's eyes flew open, only to fill with tears. 

"Oh, Pal, Pal, forgive me! I let myself go, I went back into the Cloth and it commanded me to fight and I couldn't stop! I lost."

"No son." said Mr. Field, kneeling by his side, "You won."

"I nearly killed you! I never gave your presence another thought!"

"Yes, I must say that there are some very nasty side-effects to your abilities. Gives the term: 'fallen under friendly fire' a whole new meaning." said mr. Field lightly, " That is part of war, but I would be grateful if you kept it a small part. Are you all right, my dear?"

The last words were addressed to his wife. Fully the phlegmatic Englishman, Mr. Field refused to show concern in public. Yet everyone who knew him better realised that he was very worried indeed.

"The children?"

"Are fine, Helena, fine, aren't you, boys?"

"Yes, mum, don't fuzz." chorused Esk, and Queer, to which Nick added his growl.

"What about Aldebaran?" asked Ilya in a small voice.

"Thawing his girlfriend." said Queer cheerfully, from the whole in the wall where he had been staring through, " I think it is safe for us to enter now."

The Taurus Saint was indeed holding Melina tight, his powerful Cosmos warming her frozen body. After a while the girl came to, blinked, and slapped him full in the face.

"Albi! You _imbecile_, you! How can you do this to innocent people! You are as bad as that Aleksej!"

She started crying again, tears of anger this time. Her slap had not hurt Aldebaran, but her words, and her tears, did.

"I never meant… Athena ordered… I thought…"

"That is your problem: you don't think at all!" Melina fumed, " You Saints never do, you just dance to the tune of that _wicked_ Athena! Instead of guarding your silly Temples you should be helping people with all your powers!"

Still weeping she pummelled his bread chest with her small fists.

"We of Rodorio are kept as _slaves_! Oh! And the Pope would tell us to be good and work hard and listen to our parents! Oh! Oh! But it was all for _him_, and now for _her, _never for ourselves! _Oh,oh,oh!!!!_ And the Saints expect us girls to be nice to them and do as they say, bear them children that maybe will become Saints themselves, and it never changes and it never stops and now Aleksej is murdering everyone and you are not helping,_ ooooooh!"_

Upon that last wail of Melina's, Aldebaran let out a roar that shook the last stones out of the wall Ilya had passed through, and went charging out, quite like the bull he represented.

"Why is he always so impulsive when there's a fight to go to when he's always so shy with me?" complained the Greek girl, "Oh, the _dear idiot_, when we are married I will teach him to _listen!"_

And she ran after the Taurus Saint.

"Wow! Feisty! One feels sorry for poor Taurus, she has put the ring on his finger already, or through his nose!" chuckled Queer. 

"Be happy for him." said Seika, " She loves him."

"What was all that about Aleksej attacking Rodorio? " asked Sir Frederic.

Queer explained. The Intelligence Officer spent some time pondering and assessing the situation. 

"A pity we can't keep contact with Thompson. We could use a messenger, I suppose…" he glanced at Kiki," The little lad would be the answer, problem is, he seems to have little English and Thompson knows only modern Greek, which is a far cry from the classic spoken here: even we who took it in school have trouble following."

"What are they saying?" asked Kiki of Seika, "They are talking of me, aren't they? Is there any more chocolate?"

Seika quickly translated for everyone. 

"I should go with Kiki, as interpreter." she offered at the end of her tale.

The boy sulked. "No chocolate? Mu didn't tell me to do that. Why should I?"

"Because _I_ am telling you so." said the Japanese girl sternly.

"Only if I get more chocolate!"

"Don't be so horribly greedy. I thought Saints were to lay down their lives selflessly for the Cause. Well, _they_ are your cause now, and they are not asking you to die."

"Doesn't he want to help?" asked mrs. Field.

"No, the selfish brat wants more chocolate."

The elderly Belgian lady went on her haunches to face Kiki properly, and said kindly: " It would be nice of you if you helped."

"Chocolate?"***** asked Kiki hopefully.

Mrs. Field laughed and produced the bar. " There! I believe we can _all_ do with some, after the fright we've had, don't you?"

She broke up the chocolate in equal pieces and handed it round, wrapping up the remainder carefully and replaced the packet in her handbag. Silently, almost ritually, everyone ate his or her chocolate.

__

"It was rather like a bonding ceremony. Sharing sweets…it's such a common gesture among Humans and so rare among Saints."

"Rare? Say : non-existent! "

"Anyhow it was something a Saint would never think of doing: taking time out in the middle of battle to savour, well, obviously not sweets, but…the joy of being still alive perhaps?"

"More importantly: we took time out to discuss our plans. Another thing non-existent among Saints. Moreover, Sir Frederic, though nominally in charge, allowed himself to be led on occasion, and took advice from those he judged would know better."

"Being a team that played to each other's strengths was part of our success. What really made us pull through against all odds was the fact that our opponents were divided amongst themselves, and that, ultimately, they fought alone."

Kiki had chocolate all around his mouth_. _Mrs Field pulled forth a packet of tissues.

__

"Spit_" _She told him, holding one in front of his mouth.

Fiercely she rubbed the child's face with it after he had executed her order_. _He squirmed under the unfamiliar treatment.

__

"Blaaaah!"

"You were filthy. Show me your hands…oh, very well, you can suck your fingers clean, as long as you wipe them…not on your clothes: here, take another tissue. That's better."

Ilya felt a laugh rising in his throat.Trust the Fields never to lose their sense of normality even in the midst of mayhem! He allowed the laugh to escape, and everyone laughed too, even Kiki.

Sir Frederic, after a final chuckle, called hem to order.

"Let's be about our business. Seika, are you quite clear on what you have to do?"

The young woman nodded. 

"I assume that the matter of Rodorio will be resolved soon if Taurus adds his strength to that of Miss Marini's and Miss Stafford's." continued Sir Frederic, " Miss Marini has been instructed to lead the Rodorians away from Sanctuary. A couple of miles outside the perimeter NATO troops are on 'manoeuvre'. Their CO has been briefed and will take over from there. Now listen carefully. Thompson has strict orders to pull out should matters become too dangerous, and you are to go with him. Take the kid as well."

"What, abandon you?" cried Seika.

"Absolutely. You will obey me in this. And that goes for all of you…" he eyed his companions sternly, " We have had a foretaste of what lies ahead. Anyone who wants to pull out now goes with Seika. It's your last chance. Helena?"

"No."

"Most unwise." said the Intelligence Officer, "However, I _will_ pull the plug on this Mission the minute I feel it has gone beyond our limits. That goes for you too, Ilya."

Retreating in order to live to fight another day was not a Saintly habit either, but even though his Cloth pushed him another way, Cygnus complied.

"Onwards!" cried Queer cheerfully, "Two down, eight to go!"

"Yes, but the Gemini Saint counts double, and of all the Signs of the Zodiac they are the most treacherous." warned Ilya.

"You know what the English say: 'Wait and see." said Mr.Field.

"Mowe shtaiwsh." sighed Nick.

Outside, on the Zodiacal Clock, a light faded. The Hour of Taurus had passed.

__

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

* No, I don't hold any shares in Cote D'Or. It happens to be the truth, even if the company has gone over to the Swiss since.

** That and beer and chips. Unbeatable. This isn't chauvinistic bragging. Try it out for yourselves if you don't believe me. 

*** To be back in 'Civvie Street' (civvie = civilian) indicates a decommissioned soldier.

**** 'Oh no, the poor boy!'

*****Since chocolate was unknown to the ancient Greeks and the name is the same in most languages (from the original 'chocolatl') this is what Kiki actually said, and mrs. Field understood as well as if he was speaking English. He was probably first introduced to chocolate while staying in the Kido mansion in Japan after the Battle of Sanctuary, as it is unlikely he came across it in the Himalayas!

Westminster Palace was build between 1840 and 1967. Big Ben was inaugurated in June 1858. The similarity may however have been pure coincidence.


	29. Ascension: Gemini

Gemini.

Climbing the Stairway between the Taurus and Gemini Temples had demanded a considerable effort of the two elder Fields and Sir Frederic, and they had been forced to take a breather halfway. Now, with the flame of Gemini diminishing, they stood facing two temples.

"Which one?" wondered Queer. 

"Both." answered Ilya. "I sense he presence of Saga in the right and Kanon in the left-hand Temple. The second one used to be an illusion, but since Kanon has been absolved of all his crimes, he has apparently been made Gold. I wonder which of them wears the Cloth…"

"Can't you tell? Then we'll have to hope for the best." said Sir Frederic and resolutely made for Kanon's Temple.

"Shouldn't we split up to double our chances?" asked Esk.

"Evew heawd of shafety in numbews?"

"If we do, we'll half our chances of success if it comes to a fight. Ilya can't be present in both, and without him we will be slaughtered."

"I keep telling you that." said Ilya despairing of his family's determination to continue despite the obvious danger.

"Perhaps you need another Saint to help you." came a clear voice from behind.

It was Shun, wearing his God Cloth, and he was smiling.

Ilya's first reaction was to embrace his friend. His second was to cry out: " Shun, don't take our side, they will call you a traitor like me, and your life will be forfeit."

The Andromeda Saint's smile deepened. "Then it is forfeit. You showed les concern for Mu, though."

He laughed at everyone's surprise, as he Kei-reied in greeting to the Fields.

"Aries knows my feelings. He told me, telepathically, that you would have trouble with the Gemini. Of course I came to help. Aldebaran would not be a danger to you as he as already in doubt over the wisdom of unconditional allegiance to Athena."

"He seemed fairly adamant about it to me." said Esk, " He would not let us pass though we pleaded with him. Ilya was forced to attack, and he forgot that he was in the company of mere mortals. Had it not been for the fortuitous arrival of his girlfriend, with the warning of Aleksej's attack on Rodorio, we'd be frozen meat by now."

Shun nodded pensively. 

"Yes, that was likely to happen sooner or later. The attack I mean. So Aleksej has finally made his move. Shaka will probably counter it, which will work to your advantage, if he sends Milo or Camu to quench the rebellion. It all depends on the attitude of Cancer, Capricorn and Pisces. If they move with Aleksej, Sanctuary will have another war amongst the Saints."

"Has Athena no control over it?" asked Ilya, surprised.

"Very little. Things have chanced a lot since you left! The Goddess spends most of her time in trance. So does Dokho. They seem positively obsessed with the thought of the coming war with Olympos. Shiryu and Marin are practically running Sanctuary as far as the loyal troops are concerned. Aiolia is the only Gold Saint Athena can count on for the full on hundred percent, but Aries has been working on him for days. You see, with all these factions Mu and I decided to form a fourth one; one that is concerned with what is right for Humanity, which is not necessarily what is best for Athena."

"But I thought…" began Ilya, and then he turned red.

"You thought I had taken the Goddess' part against you!" laughed Shun, " Your pardon, Cygnus! I cannot blame you: it was my intention that you believed that. I figured you could do with a secret friend within the fold. Mu was of the same opinion, and so was Ikki. True to his nature he however could not dissimulate, and defied Athena openly.

"Then he is…is he alive?"

Shun laughed again. 

"Of course he is! It takes more than the Circles of Hades to vanquish my brother! I would not be smiling I knew him dead. Mind you, I have been moping about Sanctuary ever since his 'execution': that allowed me some breathing space. Aleksej and his gang thought me a dead loss, Shaka judged me enfeebled and Athena was all understanding. She felt sorry for me and let me be. So none of them tried to drum me into heir particular service. Mu of course was everyone's and nobody's ally, as they all needed his Cloth-repairing abilities. Ikki, by the way is biding his time; even I don't know where. Inside some volcano, I expect, to gather strength and turn up in the nick of time to save me, as per usual." he grinned, " My brother likes his dramatic entrances." 

Ilya marvelled at the change in Shun. The Andromeda Saint had…no, not matured, Shun had always been by far the most mature of the Five Bronzes, if maturity lies in quiet reflection and pacifism. But he had definitely come into his own, out from under his brother's wings. There hung an air of decision-making and command about him that had not been there before.

"Are there any others who will support you?" inquired Mr. Field in Japanese.

If Shun felt any surprise to the Englishman's question spoken in his own tongue, he did not show it. "I am afraid not: Aiolia has his heart in the right place but will not abandon Athena, probably to make up for having fought against her in the Battle for Sanctuary! Milo the Scorpion, Camu Aquarius nor Kanon of the Gemini can be persuaded into changing their allegiance. There is a self-righteous heartlessness in them that makes them all Shaka's…sorry Hyoga, I'm talking of your Master…"

"Not a problem. It is true. By the way, my name is Ilya. I would prefer it if you did not call me Hyoga anymore." 

The Andromeda Saint looked momentarily taken aback, then smiled again, and continued: " hey will never be Aleksej's, though: they cannot stand the man. True to their natures Cancer, Capricorn and Pisces will follow whoever is the strongest. As it happens, they believe that to be Aleksej."

"What about his sister? Aleksej's I mean. Nastassia."

Shun's face grew fond. 

"She is Athena's handmaiden, and knows much of the Goddess' mind, which she then passes on to me. Athena will hear you, but only if you pass the test of the Twelve Temples. "

"What a bitch." growled Queer after his father had translated, " Miss High and Mighty won't consent to meeting mere mortals unless they've gone to hell and back. Those boobs may be the only nice thing about her."

"Quirinalis. I will not have you speak of the unfortunate girl like that." chided mrs. Field.

"Unfortunate! Mother, don't tell me you feel sorry for her." cried Esk.

"Strange as it may seem, I do. I agree that she is very…primitive in her ways, bound by a culture and tradition that is well past, but she probably can't help it. She is reborn every two hundred years, lives to about fifteen and dies again. She has never had the chance to grow up properly and experience a woman's life. She is forever an immature teenager with the power, authority and responsibility of a Goddess, which of course she can't handle."

"An explosive combination." remarked Sir Frederic, "Let us be grateful that she also has a teenager's single-mindedness that makes her stick to her ideals. At least her wish has always been to protect Earth against her fellow Gods. Think what it would be like if she too started thinking that Humanity's supposed corruption deserved a flood."

"She reminds me a little of Antigone." said mrs. Field, " Do you remember, Hubert? The play by Jean Anouilh. At the beginning of our courtship, when you still took me out to the theatre. You defended Kreoon, and I used to favour the poor girl who wanted to bury her brother regardless of her uncle's orders to execute anyone who did, determined as she was to do what she thought was right, against all others."

"Typical adolescent behaviour." said Mr. Field, " Incapable of reflection or compromise. They call it idealism. It makes their greatest charm, but also their greatest weakness. Oh God, how I hated the Sixties and Seventies! All those longhaired good-for-nothing fils-à-papa with no sense of responsibility at all, out to change the world! We oldies know what blind idealism can lead to, we saw it happen in the Forties. The friends of my German cousin also believed that what they did was for the good of Humanity. Their slogans were shouted with the same enthusiasm. Young people who want to save the world before breakfast are a pain in the neck." he glowered at Nick and Esk, "You have no idea how irritating you two were at the time. Thank God you developed a brain, son, and that Nick had a baby. Fatherhood knocked some sense into him. Idealism is a good counsellor but a bad master." 

"I thought that was Ambition." said Queer.

"Likewise. It's the Kreoons that make the world a better place, not the Antigones."

"Still not changed after all those years, have you, Hubert?" said mrs. Field fondly.

"Anyone who has to carry responsibility for a large number of people will agree with me." answered her husband, " Well, shall we decide? Now that we have two Saints at our disposal, we can split up."

As Shun was more fluent in Japanese than in English (despite having lived in the company of a girl with an Oxbridge accent), and mr. Field the only one who knew that language, the two would confront Saga in the Temple on their right together with Mrs. Field and Esk, whereas the others would take on Kanon.

"Stay behind me and be ready to turn and run." whispered the Andromeda Saint to mr. Field as they passed through a hall that flashed alternately light and dark, " This is how Saga tried to confuse us the first time. His Aura is barely discernible from Kanon's, but there is a sadness in it lacking in his twin's. The Gemini Cloth has two faces: one weeping, one grinning. Typically, Kanon chose the latter when they returned and Athena had Mu adapt the Gemini Cloth to fit two persons."

In the other Temple, Ilya was explaining to his companions how Gemini was the Sign of duality, of being torn in two and tossed between Good and Evil.

"Gweat." said Nick," We'll be facing a shch…shchi…shi…"

"Schizophrenic." Queer helped, laughing.

"Is that what you think I am?" came the thundering voice of Kanon in the dark.

The lights turned up, and Saga appeared before the blinking group.

"So you have chosen your path and your doom, Shun? So be it. I shall expedite you to another dimension!"

He raised his arms.

"Andromeda Chain, protect me and mine!" cried Shun, deploying his most formidable defence around the Fields, " Stay close to each other, and do not leave the circle!"

"As if we would." muttered Esk.

"I will not allow you to harm my companions." Shun told the Gemini Saint.

"The mortals need not fear me."

"Was that meant to be ironic?" asked Esk.

"How can a renegade Saint and a bunch of puny mortals hope to stand against me? You are weak, Hyoga. You always were. During the War with Hades you spend half the time unconscious. Seiya and Shun did most of the fighting and without my help you would never have reached Elysion."

"Oi, my Gweek sheemsh to have impwoved, I could follow all he shaid!" exclaimed Nick.

"That's because he is speaking in English." said Queer, patiently.

"Oh. Vewy couwteous of him. "

"Courtesy has nothing to do with it." sneered Kanon, " Soon I will be the Master of the World, and all will be my slaves: English happens to be the language most people understand. They will know my commands!"

"Ruler of the World?! You have returned to your old ambitions?!" cried Ilya.

"I have never left them." said Kanon, and laughed.

"Think, Saga, think! Remember how you wished to rule the world! How you struggled and fought against that burning desire! " whispered Shun, " I touched your mind. I felt how you suffered. You would not have if there had not been goodness in you, and warmth, and generosity. You prove it even now, for you promised to spare my friends. They are a family, Saga. The two women Scorpio is guarding belong to that family. Since when does Sanctuary take hostages? It is for Humanity that we have always fought. They never had any say in that, either. It is time they had: look what we have turned into, look how we treat Humanity! 

This is why these people have come. To talk to Athena, merely to talk: what is there to be afraid of? Why must they pass the Test of the Twelve Temples?"

"He shoundsh like Chwishtopew Lee."

"There probably is a rule about that kind of thing. Want to take over the world: must laugh maniacally." said Queer.

"The world has a thing or two to say about the takeover. " said Sir Frederic, " I certainly have."

Their flippancy shook Kanon off his a-propos.

"Hyoga, explain to these mortals how they should tremble I will not merely kill them. That would be a mercy and I know none. I will send them wandering for all eternity in the Bermuda Triangle."

"Wow! The Bewmudash! Wine, women and shong, shunshine all day long, oh, shake it baby, shake it! "

In all his life as a Saint (and well before that too), no one had ever laughed at Kanon. It unsettled him. Fortunately, he did not see that the men he faced were suitably impressed and definitely scared, but that humour as their way of coping. 

"You helped us against Hades. Athena pardoned you. " whispered Ilya hoarsely, crushed by so much duplicity.

"Athena is a sentimental fool. After the fall of Poseidon, Ikki and Sorrento made the mistake of letting me live. I was beneath their dignity to kill. Hah! The noble Warriors would not dirty their Sacred Cloth and Scales with my blood! Any blood spilled is dirty: there is nothing noble about the Warrior."

"We musht be back in the Twilight Zone: I find myshelf agweeing with him."

"Friendship, love and trust are weaknesses when people come to rely on it. The Strong must put aside those feelings to achieve their purpose. There is only Power, for those who are willing to wield it, and the Strong will crush the weak while reaching for Power: that is the way of nature, and only a fool will act otherwise."

"Wight. I've jusht shtopped aweeing with him."

"Athena is weak. She believes in goodness in everyone. A few tears, a little self-sacrificial play-acting with that not quite so gullible idiot Milo -painful, but it was worth it- and they were taken in completely. They will never achieve Power, let alone keep it: to rule the world one must have an iron fist, not a velvet glove."

"Hish English though ish vewy good. Wondew wewe he leawned it."

"An educated Saint. Must be a first." quipped Queer.

"To know a thing is to have Power over it. Knowledge is Power! Power is all. It is the only truth there is…"

"Yadda yadda yadda, yes, we got the message, power is your lover." said Queer, and quoted: 

"' There is only one Power that can vanquish Truth: Power. There is only one Power that can vanquish Power: Truth. In the end, both will regard each other as the loser.'"

Now Kanon was well and truly rattled. He had rarely faced 'mere mortals' in combat, and when he had, they had usually been terrified. Briefly. Saints never made long speeches either. 

He found himself having great difficulty in adjusting his mind to fit in opponents who talked back.

"What?"

"Not so educated a Saint, evidently." said Queer, and repeated the quote," Samuel Menasseh. Rabbi, Philosopher, teacher of Spinoza. From his Uma Vida."

"Youw pwofound wishdom ish losht on him, Queew."

Kanon resorted to laughter. It sounded more like a cackle.

"Wisdom! You are fools. All are fools. Athena and Dokho wait for Zeus to come: they should be on the offensive. Shaka is battling he Lord of Blue Graad for control. They do not see what happens right under their noses."

" Military speaking he is quite right." said Sir Frederic.

"He's a few straws short of a full bushel, if you ask me."

"If you ashk _me,_ he hash only a few shtrawsh left."

"I have only to let them kill each other, and finish off the last one standing!"

"Ruthless, but effective." said sir Frederic with grudging admiration.

"Kanon, answer me this: Is your brother in on you scheme or not?" asked Ilya quietly.

Once again the mad - powermad if not truly mad- Gemini Saint laughed.

"There can only be one Master."

Saga was visibly crumbling under Shun's assault. Not the strength of the Andromeda Chain not the Power of a Saintly attack got the better of him, but words, spoken from a warm and loving Soul. 

"You fled in death; and you sought forgiveness when you joined us in the War against Hades. You fought bravely. And she forgave you. In the eyes of all true Saints you have redeemed yourself, but in the eyes of Man? Look at them, Saga. Mortal men and woman. Because of what you did, people such as they have suffered and died. Have you ever wondered how they might feel? Can you look into their eyes and say: I will not harm you? By being party to the abduction of their loved ones, you have already harmed them."

"Not I…Aleksej…"

"Did you make any attempt to stop him? Did you protest when he brought them here? Did you persuade Athena to order their release? Did you?" Shun went on, relentless.

"That's enough." said mrs.Field, " I haven't understood much of what you were saying, but you sound like you are hounding that poor man."

I have met a couple of nazi's in my time." said sir Frederic, " They believed themselves to be the Master Race. I doubt though if even Hitler thought himself capable of mastery of the World. Mind you, he made a damn good attempt at it. And failed. Because the combined forces of several nations rejected him. People believed it impossible at the time. They believed it was better to comply with his wishes, and not have a war. The dead of World war Two might agree. Personally, I hold with 'Britons never, never shall be slaves'. I stand not alone in that. Keep it in mind when you expedite us. Nations may bow to you, but there will always be Nations that will resist, or simply ordinary people. You will never be master of anything, if the people do not choose you to be."

"What makes you think I will allow dissenters to live? Or that there will be people at all, other than my faithful followers?"

"Oh, so you are just going to rule over a graveyard, are you?" asked Ilya angrily, "Doerak!** You really are insane. Locking you away in the cell under Cape Sounion was far too lenient."

He went for the kill.

Do you imagine I feel no guilt at all?" shouted Saga, "I tell myself that I am only partly to blame, that it was my brother's whisperings of evil and Ares spirit that took over my soul, but in my heart I now that it isn't true. They sought entrance and I let them in. Don't you know that I lie awake at night seeing the faces of my victims before me? Nothing will wash me clear of the deeds I have done, nothing, I can never atone enough, never…."

He choked on his words.

Mr. Field and son were embarrassed. As proper Englishmen did not approve of such show of emotion in other men. Mrs.Field however was of different stock. Filled with pity for the man she moved to step out of the Andromeda Chain's defensive circle.

"Don't!" cried Saga as he saw her approach, " The Chains will sent millions of volts through anyone who passes them!"

He dived for the woman who was just lifting her left foot to step over the first spiral and pushed her back with such force that she fell into the timely outstretched arms of her son. He too fell: flat on the chains. 

"Helena!"

For once, Mr. Field forgot himself.

"Poesje ***, answer me, are you hurt?"

"Not as much as he will be for hitting mum!" bellowed Esk, by this display of belligerence disproving the general idea that absent-minded professorial types are natural born pacifists. 

"No Esk, he meant to save her, believing that my chains were set to incinerate. If they had been, but for him, your mother would be ashes and dust by now." said Shun quietly.

Saga was on hands and knees, a look of total, bewildered astonishment on his face. 

"They are not activated!" he gasped, taking a length of the chain as he stared at the Andromeda Saint as if willing him to gainsay it, " It is your best defence, and you did not activate it! I could have killed the mortals as easy as whistling."

"You said you would not harm them. I took your word for it. And though I allowed you to believe there was high voltage on my chains, you did not hesitate to risk your own life to save mrs. Field." Shun smiled, warmly, " Do you realise what happened? You showed your true nature: and it is good. Without actively seeking redemption, you have found it."

Esk stepped forward and held out his hand to Saga.

"Thank you for my mother."

This time, Ilya made sure that his cold air would not affect his friends. All of it was balled into his attack on Kanon, and the widespread wings of his God-Cloth shielded Nick, Queer and Sir Frederic, standing in a defiant group behind him, from the worst.

"Give it to the Bashtawd!" whooped Nick.

"'God for Harry, England and Saint George!'" ****shouted Queer.

"Don't stand there yelling, you idiots! Retreat! Retreat and take cover! Let them slug it out!" cried sir Frederic, in true military style.

But Kanon had already opened the Bermuda Triangle. Huge gravitational forces were pulling in Ilya's Kholodnyi Smerch, the Cygnus Saint himself, and the men he was protecting.

"Grab hold of me!" Ilya cried, frantically beating his wings like a swimmer trying against the current. Sir Frederic caught his left foot and Queer his right, and he in turn collared Nick.

"You …awe…stwangling me!"

"Better…than being…ripped apart!"

Kanon's hellish laughter rang more and more faint in their ears as the Triangle began to close about them.

__

"Now…now is the moment. Bozhe moi, I do not wish to kill him but I must: give me strength. For my family!"

With one mighty beat of his swan's wing, Cygnus pivoted upon his own axis and, facing the Triangle , took up the stance of the Aurora Execution.

"Stop twitching…my hands…are slipping!" screamed Queer.

"Quirinaaaaalis! Nick!" howled Sir Frederic, as he lost his hold on Ilya's foot.

"Noooooo!"

The Cygnus Saint unleashed his Power.

__

To be continued.

* from : 'Rule Britannia.'

* fairly common Russian swear-word, meaning 'peasant' (Russian peasants had a bad reputation even in Russia!)

***(dutch) kitten

**** read your Shakespeare.


	30. Ascension: Cancer

Cancer.

The flame of the Gemini had evaporated, and still they did not come. Shun, his eyes closed, was concentrating on Kanon's and Ilya's Cosmos.

Saga had allowed them through his Temple. He would neither help nor hinder them; they had given him much to think about.

"Kanon has passed away." announced the Andromeda Saint.

"Passed away as in dead?" asked Esk, " Not that that mean much around here, I'm told. Everyone seems to have died a couple of times already."

Shun shook his head. "He has been obliterated. Can you feel the cold? Cygnus has launched the Aurora Execution at him. I always knew he was powerful, but such strength! It was born of despair. I suspect he has been consciously or not, holding back all the while. It is true though that an Ice Saint has an advantage."

"Never mind the technicalities: I have a son in there!" bellowed mr. Field. Disregarding all safety to himself and his remaining family, he plunged into Kanon's Temple. With a cry of:

"Hubert! Be careful!" his wife went after him.

"Is it safe?" asked Esk. When he got no other answer than a shrug from Shun, he rushed in as well. The Andromeda Saint followed.

Mr. Field and his wife were running around, alternatingly calling the names of their son and Sir Frederic, with an occasional 'Nick' and 'Ilya'! thrown in. 

"Where are they?" asked mr. Field, shaking slightly.

"Hyo…Ilya is alive. I can still sense his Cosmos. Kanon has opened the Bermuda Triangle: a gap in interdimensional space. When he was annihilated the triangle will have collapsed upon itself. Logically, they will have come out in Sanctuary: Ilya is here somewhere, I can tell, though unconscious. They may no longer be all together."

"But alive, alive, that is what matters?!?"

"I think so; and safe too, unless…"

"Unless?"

"There is one Saint who will not hold back when faced with ordinary mortals. " said Shun hesitant to tell his companions the worst, " and we are about to face him. Cancer. The sign of the Crab. Sanctuary's executioner. He massacred hundreds, with or without orders from Saga-the-pope, all the while knowing that he was an impostor. Many for his own profit or pleasure: he used to decorate his Temple with the screaming faces of his victims. Men, women, old people…even …" his voice dropped to a mere whisper: "Children. His name he has chosen to forget. Save Saga and perhaps Dokho, who now knows it? He has taken a new name, most fitting: Deathmask."

Mr. Field suppressed a shudder. 

"If my sons and friend have fallen into his hands…"

"Then you must hope that their deaths were swift and painless."

With a cry mrs.Field stormed out of the Gemini Temple and took the first steps of the Stairway to Cancer two at a time, with a surprising vitality no woman his age should be muster, save when driven by fear for loved ones.

But Shun moved even faster. In a flash he was several steps ahead, barring her way.

"This task is mine alone. I shall either avenge or save them."

With that the Andromeda Saint turned and sped up the Stairway to meet Cancer.

Mr. Field and Esk came panting to Mrs. Field's side. 

"Hubert, oh, Hubert!"

Mr.Field reached out and pulled his wife close. 

"We have to wait and see, poesje. The boy knows best. He has gone to take on the one that will be the hardest nut to crack: the others we may negotiate with yet…" his face hardened, "That Goddess has much to answer for. She has driven children mad!"

"Children with powers that can tear the universe apart." whispered Esk fearfully, " Look!"

The cancer Temple shook and crackled as if lightning had struck. Two glowing Auras enveloped it: one sickly green, the other crimson, fighting for dominance.

"I wish I could believe in God." Murmured Mrs. Field, " So that I could pray for the safekeeping of that dear, brave boy."

"Don't." said her husband roughly, "That is how it starts. Once we start praying we start hoping for divine intervention, and the next step is subservience, and the loss of your ability to make decisions and, more importantly, to take responsibility for yourself without referring to God."

"Will you look at that?!" cried Esk, fascinated by the display at the Cancer Temple, "Those guys generate so much energy! If one could run a power-plant on a Saint, we'd have 'clean' electricity to last us forever…" he stopped enthusing as he saw his parent's aghast expressions.

"Well, people are always going on about my kind of physics not being directly applicable in daily life, so if for once I'm being practical…of course the electricity board would have to pay them…hey, it's just a thought you know…" a tremendous explosion that shook the ground cut short the young scientists further ideas. Mr. Field drew his family to the side of the Stairway, and made them crouch behind a big boulder.

"Save your grand environmentally-friendly design for later, son."

"But Queer, what about Queer, what if the boy doesn't make it, we won't know what happened to him if we can't get past that Temple!" screamed mrs.Field on the verge of hysteria, "Let him not be in there, tell me he is not in there!"

For the first time in thirty years of marriage Mr. Field lied to his wife. "No, love, he is not. Trust in Ilya to have seen him safe, and anyway, you know our youngest: he always gets by. 

It's the Andromeda boy we have to worry about."

Entering the Gemini Temple was like entering a morgue. 

"No, not a morgue. That is a clean place by comparison, where the dead are treated with respect. Deathmask did not know the meaning of the word. " 

"On cannot help but feel sorry for him though. Like Kanon, he was quite mad. "

"Criminally insane, yes. But believe me, if he had been given a choice before hand, he would not have walked another path. He was rotten at the core. Still, a tough nut to crack."

Dead, dead, dead people everywhere. Some had died recently and some days, even weeks before, rotting away, flesh falling from bone, and maggots crawling around exposed insides.

__

"An illusion, that's what this is, an illusion created by Deathmask to frighten me. He tried the same trick on Seiya and Shiryu. After Dragon vanquished him it disappeared. But…the smell…surely he could not create the smell…"

The dead were real. He recognised Sanctuary Guards, villagers, Saints. Jamian the Corvus lay in a corner on a heap of decomposing raven corpses. Not far from him was a huge bear of a man: Shun had never seen him, but the cloth resembled Geki's, who was Ursa Minor. Could this be his Master, Ursa Major? He trod on a helmet that half-covered a decaying face, still recognisable as Ban…Shun threw up in an empty space between two cadavers.

"Now you have ruined my beautiful composition." said Cancer, stepping out of the shadows.

The Andromeda Saint whirled round to take up his battle stance, stumbled over Ban, and fell. His hand made contact with something soft that made a squishy sound, and produced a nauseating stench: he had landed on Ursa Major's belly and the skin had given way. He blew the rest of his stomach contents.

"Such a sensitive creature you are. Don't you like the setting? I thought it most appropriate and fitting for your death. I always loved the theatre. Ah, la Commedia dell Arte! But it is not all fake. I am an honest fellow you see. This is what the so-called 'noble' deeds of the Saints lead to. One should be aware of that all the time."

It was a strange thing to hear from the mouth of one such as Deathmask the truths he had so often maintained himself.

"Yet here I am, chatting away when I should be killing you. Do forgive my negligence. It is so seldom I get visitors. I wonder why. I always take great pains to send off my guests in style. You have made acquaintance with some of them I see. Ursa Major is still too fresh: in a few days he will have putrefied to my satisfaction. But Ban is interesting, don't you think?"

"Why…why did you…kill them?" stammered Shun, amazed that he could still utter a sound, let alone a whole sentence.

"Because they were in my way, of course." said Deathmask in a dreadfully reasonable sort of voice.

Because he enjoys it." said Ikki.

"Phoenix!" cried the Cancer and Andromeda Saints in unison.

"Hello, little bro'. Thought I'd drop by to see how you were doing. Don't let me interrupt. You were saying, Deathmask?"

The Cancer Saint regained his composure.

"Two for the price of one!" he crowed, " You will become my chef-d'oeuvre. It is really quite astonishing how you contrive to come back from the dead, Phoenix…Well, any Saint worth his salt should be able to do that. Rather foolish of you to return now that you have destroyed your own Cloth. I imagine you are capable of withstanding my attack, but can you protect your brother at the same time?"

As he spoke Deathmask sank down to a crouching position, quite like a crab's, his arms, hands with fingers widespread, held like pincers. He struck…and was caught in the Spider Net defence.

"Well done little bro'. Crabs are related to the Arachnid family. Treat them as such."

Cancer laughed.

"Did you really believe you could hold me?"

The explosion of his Cosmos shook the Temple to its foundations. Shun and Ikki were thrown to the floor. The Andromeda Chain, shattered to pieces, rained down about them.

"The Crab's Pincers have cut the Spider's Net, and now they shall cut you."

"Don't be such a fool." said Ikki calmly, " The same attack never works twice on a Saint, and we know both yours now. Don't even think of throwing me he Circles of Hades: or have you forgotten that Shun has housed the spirit of Hades himself, and has succeeded in shaking of the God of Death himself? Separately we are more powerful than you already; together you are no match for us. We would have killed you before, but that would be descending to your level. Give yourself up, and face trial."

"Trial…_trial?!_ You are the fool! It is only a matter of time before Athena's Power is broken. She took a wolf in the fold in the shape of Aleksej, and Shaka has delusions of Godhood himself, too, quiet like Saga used to have. For now he bides his time, but Aleksej will force his hand: I've heard he has moved on Rodorio. For now the Opiuchus Saint seconded by that weak little Chamaeleon is holding the Warriors of Blue Graad off, and if I interpreted my readings of the Cosmos correctly that dumb ox Aldebaran has also thundered to the rescue: fine by me, let them finish each other.

"Didn't you side with Aleksej?"

"I side with no-one. I'm only with him because he is against Shaka. Whenever I can get someone for my collection, there you will find me. Aleksej wanted me to take out a few guards: fine by me. Ban witnessed that, so I had to take him out as well. Geki wanted to become Ursa Major without fighting himself, so I obliged: now he is beholden to me, and all his apprentices with him. Jamian has always worked on my nerves: he had it coming to him. Hyoga I will allow to fight the other Gold Saints, for he is strong and will certainly kill a fair few before succumbing. Then I can pick off the rest. I hope Virgo will be among the fallen. Anyway, I had not planned on defending my Temple if Hyoga came to pass, but you two are different. You upset the balance. Therefore you must die. Feel the true Power of the Crab, that kills from within!"

The air crackled with pure energy. Thin tendrils of light wove in and out and round, split, divided, played amongst the bodies of the dead, swirled up the pillars like thin snakes, came down again, crawled like worms eating their way through the corpses and up the brethren's legs, entering through every orifice, nestling in bowels, lungs, the heart chamber, swelling, swelling…

"Aaaaargh!!!"

The pain was excruciating. They could not breathe. The pressure became too great to bear…

The last they heard was Cancer's high laughter.

After a while their bodies stopped twitching. Ikki's eyes were wide open, his face a mask of twisted pain. Shun had slipped into death as quietly and serenely as he had lived.

"Ah, no, you are too beautiful, you need to be spoiled a little!" cried the Cancer Saint, still laughing. He lifted his foot booted in gold and brought it down hard on Shun's face, breaking the Andromeda Saint's nose and shattering his front teeth.

"Better, but not quite the effect I was looking for. Once more to open the skull, I think, and let the brain drip out…yes, that will be just the thing."

He tried to raise his foot again, but found it stuck in the corpse. It was as if Shun's face, a great gaping wound like a giant mouth, was trying to suck him in. Deathmask lost his balance, his leg sank away to the knee, and he fell, and still he was pulled in, up to his thigh now, and then arms wrapped round him, pawing at him, ensnaring his body: Ikki, Ban's, all of them, the embrace of many lovers, and all dead. He screamed.

"It is called the Phoenix illusion, an attack that can actually be used several times on the same person when you manage to catch him at unawares, for it effects the brain directly, and only Cygnus ever managed to counter it."

Deathmask gasped. He was on his knees, amidst the dead, and Shun and Ikki were standing staring down on him.

"If you really want to annihilate an opponent, don't tell him beforehand what you are going to do." advised the Phoenix Saint, "I hit you with my illusion as you began your pincer movement. You are a very sick person, Deathmask, and I for one have no problem with putting you out of our misery for good. Shun?"

For answer, the Andromeda Chain rattled.

"My strength lies both in the defence and the offence." Shun informed the Cancer Saint, " I do not usually combine the two."

Deathmask felt himself being grabbed from behind as if by a great claw, and lifted high. Wildly he thrashed his arms and legs about, to no avail.

"The only way to take hold of a crab without him pinching you is from above and the back. Gulls then use their sharp beaks to pry open the carapace;"

The triangular shaped, pointed end of the Andromeda Chain struck the Cancer Saint, right arm, left arm, legs, chest and finally forehead, till all of the Gold Cloth lay in fragments on the floor, and Deathmask was left naked and wriggling like a worm on the hook.

"Whenever you want, big brother."

"At the word go, then, together."

Cancer screamed in terror.

"No! No! You can't do that, not the two of you together! A true Saint fights alone, in single combat!"

"There is a number of things a true Saint does and should not do." said Shun calmly, " You still do not comprehend. We are no longer true Saints. Maybe we never where. We believe there should be no Saints, either. You are the best proof there should not be? Whether supreme power has warped your mind or whether you abused your power because your mind is warped I do not know. It is moot anyhow. I wish I could help you. I wish there were another solution. But we don't have the time, and therefore not the choice. Go!"

as the Andromeda Saint drove his chain straight through Deathmask's heart, his brother Phoenix 's hand sliced down and broke Cancer's neck.

"All right, little bro'? Tell yourself that it was and execution. He was a psychopathic killer. There is no court on Earth that would not condemn him. Not t death, perhaps, but with a Saint it is practically the only thing you can do, and even that is no guarantee."

"Agreed, but if I ever become a grandfather this is not the kind of story I will tell the little ones at night!"

"One more thing left to do. Neither he nor his Cloth may be allowed to return. This entire place is steeped in tears and horror. It too has to be eradicated."

"Ban…"

"Yes, he deserves a better resting-place. They all do. But like you said, we don't have the time and therefore not the choice. They would understand, and agree. If you wish I will take care of it."

"No. We are in this together. Go! Nebula Storm!"

"Phoenix' wings!"

Cautiously, Mr. Field looked over the edge of the boulder after the explosions had subsided.

"Dust cloud!"

He dragged his wife and son away, down, back to the Gemini Temple. 

"Inside, against the wall, breathe slowly and regularly through your mouth, keep it covered!" He slapped a handkerchief over Mrs.Field's face, saw that his son pulled his turtleneck collar up to the nose and used his officer's cap for himself.

Their shelter was minimal. The cloud blanketed the stairs and burst in through the open doorway of the Temple doorway. Gritty particles snowed down on the hapless group.

After the cloud had lifted, nothing remained of the Cancer Temple but a thin ribbon of smoke drifting up and away on the wind, like a candle snuffed out.

On the giant clockface, only eight more hours remained lit.

__

To be continued.

Author's note: 

That was the first and the last time I wrote sick horror.


	31. Ascension: Leo

Leo.

Milo the Scorpion had a headache. It had taken human form and was called Skippy. 

He did not object to her being a woman. He liked women when they were soft and compliant. _She_ was not. And she was pregnant, which he thought was obscene. 

__

"Why must they flaunt their bellies so? They should be locked up with their bloated bodies for full nine months 'till their brats are born."

And she was ugly.

The Scorpio Saint prided himself on being a pure, blond and blue-eyed descendant of Alexander the Great. Bad enough that Sanctuary had had to put up with foreigners from all over Europe and beyond, bad enough that it had been infested of late by those yellow monkeys from Japan, bad enough that they were led by that useless old fart of a Chinaman, Dokho (Another yellow monkey! So he had the gift of Misopethamenos? It might have permitted him to age slowly, preserving him from becoming the wrinkled gnome everyone thought he was, it had not preserved his mind from going two-hundred and something. Over-cautious, that's what he was, a draft could make him believe a storm was coming, anyway, anyone who had spend two-hundred years on a rock must be rusted, right? Right!) But That Woman!

Flat nosed and broad-mouthed, her ridiculously thin, spindly legs sticking out from under that mound of a belly in maternity dress, she had stood, hands on hips, facing Athena and _scolding_ the Goddess like one would a naughty child.

He had not understood a word of it of course (Greek was the only language worth speaking, it just went to show how degenerate his race had become, the way they spoke the noble tongue these days, and nobody would ever catch _him_ defiling is mouth that ugly foreign gobbledy-gook.) but the way she spoke and Athena's reaction to it was eloquent enough. Shaka had wanted to execute the woman for it there and then (for once he had agreed with Virgo! A pity he hadn't.) and Deathmask was already hopping with glee at the thought, yet the Goddess objected to killing mere mortals.

Of course theirs had been but a token gathering. Sanctuary was hardly united nowadays. Shaka, for all his meditation, still had some human emotions left in him, and the chief of these was extreme envy of Dokho's appointment as pope. Had he, Virgo, not been the one to remind Athena of the Arayashiki? Had he not made the Ultimate Sacrifice in order to obtain the Eight' Sense and thus enter Hades' realm? The Virgo Saint never let his true feelings show, but Milo could see through that quiet composure, see the burning resentment below. It almost made Shaka sympathetic to his eyes. Almost._ He_ had something to say about the Virgo Saint. as well, and it was not nice either. Arrogant bastard. Thought himself a cut above the rest. Badly needed to be _cut down_ to size. Still, he had chosen to follow Shaka rather than Dokho.

Aleksej had been very angry when the Goddess had ordered him to hand over the prisoners to Aquarius.

"They are hostages! The Renegade will surely come for them!"

"Be that as it may, I would rather have them where they will remain unmolested."

Aleksej's eyes had narrowed at that. 

"You still need me, Goddess."

" Do I deny it, Lord of Blue Graad?"

Damn the man! That was what had made him side with Shaka, ultimately. Athena should never have allowed those Russki's into Sanctuary, and now she stood powerless and could not evict them. Or rather she lacked the will. 

Shake had it, though. Along with Aquarius and the Gemini, they would have settled the Ice Warriors once and for all, along with Pisces and Capricorn and Cancer. Mind you, he was beginning to doubt Kanon. At the beginning of the war against Hades, he had been wary of Saga's evil twin; but the man had undergone the Antares willingly, attempting to strike back, and that had convinced Milo of his good intentions. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. The way Sanctuary was falling apart proved that every Gold Saint had his own hidden agenda, and that their unity facing the Wall of Lamentation was purely temporary thing, because at that moment heir agendas had coincided.

Although Cancer and Pisces favoured Aleksej (at least they had never spoken against his presence), Capricorn alone had openly backed the hostage-taking deal. Deathmask had slithered off to some dark business of his own, and Aphrodite had merely sniffed delicately at a white rose in his hand and not said a thing, not even when the Ice Saint appealed to him for support. And so Shaka had taken charge of the two women, and had handed them over to Camu. During the night Aleksej had attempted to retrieve 'his' prisoners, and got his nose bloodied by the Aquarius Saint. Camu's Temple however had been severely damaged in the process, and Virgo had decided to have the women transferred to Scorpio. 

Milo felt certain that Shaka had done that only to pester him.

__

"Just you wait, I'll get even. With you and with Aquila and Draco, insolent pups, swaggering about as if they owned the place because Athena favours them. I was here first. I am Sanctuary born! Yellow monkeys the pair of them."

Shortly afterwards Aleksej had tried again. Three Blue Graad Warriors paid for it with their lives. They had died slowly and in a lot of pain. It had given him some satisfaction, but his bad mood soon had returned. He even felt disgruntled with Camu, the only Gold Saint he got along with, and the only one he actually respected and, yes, liked. Blasted Frenchie, he could have warned about the damn woman's nagging.

He halted in his tracks. Really, if he kept on stamping about in circles like this he'd be leaving furrows in the marble floor of his Temple's cella before long. He was a Gold Saint, damn it! True, he was the youngest of them all, and his temper often got the better of him, but this attitude was unworthy. He should not let a mere mortal wind him up so much. 

__

"That's it, the women have to go. At any rate the black one. What if she drops her child right here and now? Let that softy Aiolia take care of her, he's the healer of the gang after all. Or Mu…"

No, not Mu. He could dump the women on Leo, no questions asked, but the Aries Saint would have something ironic to say. Dirty half-breed. Now there was another one he would love taking down a peg or two. Three. But not today!

__

"Aiolia? Come here, will you? It is urgent!"

He sent the thought to the fifth Temple. 

__

Maybe I should notify Shaka as well… oh, what the hell, what difference does it make where the hostages are kept? Besides, I have the excuse of not knowing how to deal with a pregnant chick, that's it, if he calls me on his I'll tell him that. Problem solved."

Then another thought struck him. If Ailolia took on the black one, _he'd_ be left with the other, the blonde with the bulging eyes that stared into nothingness. _She_ creeped him out.

"_I will be alone with her!"_

"Scorpio? Milo? Why did you call for me? What is it?"

Damned! He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that his fellow Saint had taken him by surprise! He really needed to get rid of them both.

__

"Ah. Leo. The prisoners. You may take charge of them."

In the Leo Temple, Aiolia frowned. The whole prisoner-hostage-taking business went very much against his grain. In the Council of Saints, after Aleksej, triumphant, had brought them forth, he had vigorously protested against it. Each Saint had had his own unique reactions, each according to his temperament.

Mu had raised a delicate eyebrow and had said: " Hostages? There's a novel idea!"

Taurus had grunted: "It is not honourable."

"Nor is it, but they are here and we have to make the best of a bad situation." Saga had replied, and Kanon had added shrewdly: " Besides, they _are_ friendly with the Renegade, and can tell us of his plans. Cancer had offered to interrogate them, and then he, Leo had exploded: "Hostages! Interrogations! Is this what we have come to?" At which Virgo had told him to sit down and be calm, excitement led nowhere. "Obviously the _prisoners_ (Shaka had stressed the word) cannot be released as long as association with the Renegade has not been duly investigated." 

"All right, let's read their minds, wipe them and be done with it." had said Scorpio. However, Deathmask's proposal was rejected, and the Cancer Saint had left the council in a sulk. 

Capricornus had been all for using the women as bait to lure the Renegade to Sanctuary. Camus had suggested to put them on ice. Aphrodite had not even pretended an interest.

As Pope, Dokho had had the final word, although Aiolia strongly suspected that here had been a battle of wills going on over their heads between Virgo and the former Libra. The Leo Saint was not sure whether Dokho had actually agreed with Shaka, or whether he had been forced to do so. The two hundred-year-old youth had been very indecisive, and had looked almost absent-minded throughout the discussion, which was nothing new of late. And so the women had been handed over to Aquarius, who was Shaka's man, not Dokho's. Athena's contribution had been to insist that the two would not be harmed or tampered with in any way.

__

"Why, Scorpio? You know how I feel about it."

Milo grimaced. Leo might feel differently after he had spent some time with that Skippy. 

__

"It's a matter of…health. Athena did express concern for their welfare, and one of them is pregnant after all. Oh, and Leo…"

"Yes?"

"I'll teleport them down to you. No need for you to come up and disturb Shaka."

"He is getting rid of the women and Virgo knows nothing about it!" thought Aiolia privately, _Is that a good or a bad thing? It will certainly be better for those poor women. To be in the company of Camu amounts to much the same as being put on ice by him, and underneath those boyish good looks and charm of Milo's there is a nasty streak I'm not happy with either."_

Still, he was relieved he did not have to go to the Scorpio Temple. He had never liked the place: it reminded him entirely too much of Cancer's. Small wonder. Both were the signs of deceit, of backstabbing, of death in slow and painful ways. He was glad to be Leo, and honest sign, the lion that fought straightforwardly, giving his opponent equal chances. Come to think of it, the number of Gold Saints who were as he was dismally low. Pisces was just as treacherous as Cancer and Scorpio, although that was Aphrodite's nature, not his sign's. Similarly, another man than Shaka would have a less cruel attack than all that sending to hell stuff and the obliteration of the senses the Virgo Saint favoured. The Gemini were fairly benign by contrast: banishment rather than death. Both Mu and Aldebaran were defensive rather than offensive which made them, perhaps, the best of Saints. He fervently hoped that Mu would become the new Libra, although Shiryu had an eye on the job as well. A bit of a comedown that would be, since the Dragon Saint was half-god and above Gold now. However, the young Japanese seemed to have personal problems he was interiorising. At any rate he was hard on himself, and hard on the new recruits. Fortunately most had been send to various training camps around the world. He understood Shiryu, though. Had he not been like that himself, totally dedicated to his duty, to compensate for his problems? Perhaps he should speak with the young Saint, offer help. Yes, he would. Later. This affair had to be resolved first. The latest news was that a group of people, including Hyo – no, the Renegade, had passed Taurus, who had abandoned his post (quite understandably so), to deal with Aleksej wreaking havoc in Rodorio. And Mu had totally disappeared. If the Gemini could not stop the intruders – which he doubted- Cancer would. 

__

"They had better succumb to either Kanon or Saga, than face Deathmask…no, no, I should not feel sorry for them. Whoever defiles this hallowed ground deserves to die…"

No.

He ran out of his Temple, up to Virgo, where Shaka sat deep in meditation, up, past empty Libra, and into Scorpio.

"I told you not to come! What did Shaka say?" Milo shouted angrily.

"Not a thing, he is in trance. I want to see them."

"Oh, very well, they are over there."

In a corner of the Temple the two women sat, the dark one on her haunches, the blonde with her arms around her legs. 

__

"Goddess, she looks like she is about to give birth! Now I understand why Milo lands them on me. Typical. How many children of his are crawling about Rodorio that he doesn't care a fig about?"

The black woman looked up, her eyes shooting resentment. 

"Watch out, Vimi, here comes another one of those clowns."

Unlike Milo, Aiolia _did_ have a little English. He could not blame the woman for her anger, even if her words were less than respectful. 

The blonde made no answer. It was as if she hadn't heard. 

A shiver ran down Aiolia's spine. He sensed a lack of feeling in her, greater than Camu's. A black home of despair. Was he the cause of it? He and the other Saints? Had she given up? 

For the first time in his life he the Leo Saint began to wonder about ordinary people. 

__

"Who are they anyway? What induced them to help the Renegade? Two _plain mortal women. One cannot lay the blame on them. He must have warped their minds somehow. But Cygnus never worked with mind-control: that was Phoenix's speciality. That's it, they must have worked in concert, before Ikki was found out…"_

"Are you moving or staying?" called Milo," Make up your mind! Get to your own Temple, man! Can't you sense it? The intruders have passed the Gemini!"

"That is impossible!" cried the Leo Saint, and with a flash he teleported.

"Hey, you forgot your baggage! Oh, what the hell, I'll dump them in his Temple."

Teleportation was not Milo's strong suit, and he would rather die than admit that he was only marginally better at it than Aldebaran. Teleporting people over short distances within Sanctuary he could manage without batting an eye though.

Leo was not amused when he saw the two appear out of nowhere in the middle of his Temple.

The black woman screamed. The blonde, again, had no reaction whatsoever.

"Right, that's it, I've had it with being zoomed about like Kirk and Spock! Now look here, Scotty…aaargh!"

The woman had jumped up from her crouched position, and suddenly doubled up in pain. Aiolia caught her in time as she lost her balance. 

"Oh no, not here, not now, not like this!" she cried, hugging her belly.

Once more her body was racked with pain, and once more she screamed. 

With his healer's touch, Aiolia knew what was happening. Her waters had broken, she was having contractions, her baby would come now, here, like this, as she feared_._

"Vimi!" she called out to her companion, "Vimi, help me, I'm having my baby!"

The blonde shifted a little, but remained seated and staring ahead, as if nothing mattered to her; and perhaps it did not. 

"Viminalis! Curse you, snap out of it! Now is not the time to give yourself over to depression! Aaah…that was at least a minute apart…Vimi! _Help me!"_

The blonde woman blinked. Once. Her grey eyes were expressionless. 

"Oh…Oh? Yes." 

"Thank you, Vimi, you are a big help."

The dark woman began to breathe heavily. Aiolia felt an almost uncontrollable urge to laugh. The situation was simply ridiculous. Sanctuary had declared war on the Renegade who was coming closer by the minute, he would have to do battle soon, and here he was, he, the Leo Saint, saddled up with a woman in labour, and a …what? A madwoman? 

This 'Vimi' person was not right in her mind, he could sense that. She was despairing. Not of her present situation, not that…this was something far older than that, something that had begun long ago; despair, yes, and pain, and darkness, a sense of being lost and never being able to find the way. 

An unfamiliar feeling for a Saint filled him: pity.

Yet she was not the emergency: it was the black woman who needed his immediate help.

__

"I don't know what to do! This is not a wound I can heal. It is not a disease. She is having a baby, woman have been doing it since mankind began, what need has she of help, surely she knows how to cope? Maybe I should call another woman. Athena… Athena knows nothing of childbirth. Rodorio? Plenty of experienced women there, but the village is under attack! Perhaps the Blue Graad girl, Nastassia? Oh, my Goddess, surely she is not having that baby in the middle of the floor?" 

It looked like she was. At any rate she had removed her wet and bloodied slip, and was back on her haunches, groaning, sighing, panting like a beast.

She was incapable of walking, that much was clear; he would have to carry her to Athena's Temple, where Nastassia was.

__

"This is so embarrassing. Here I am, probably the strongest of all Gold Saints, forced to play midwife…thanks a lot, Milo."

What was he supposed to do? Stick his hand in? He shuddered at the very thought. He removed his long, flowing white mantle and draped it over the woman's shoulders.

"What must I do?"

"Her answer was a laugh that ended in a long groan.

"What can you do? This baby was supposed to be due on the sixth of January: an Epiphany child, not a Boxing Day one. It is going to be born despite of you, and I will not have _any_ of you creeps touch it…or me!"

"You cannot do it on your own."

"Thousand of years worth of Aboriginal women have been doing it under gum trees and behind clumps of spinnifex grass, a Dorian Temple will be a luxurious first; just watch me do it alone! Ooooh! "

All of a sudden the woman called Vimi started to giggle. The giggle turned into a cackle and from there passed to outright laughter that was as mad as Cancer's.

"Stop it! Be quiet!"

She kept on laughing.

"Stop it!!"

"She won't listen. She may not even hear you. Vimi is a manic-depressive. Usually she doesn't switch from one state to the other quiet so fast, but who knows…ooooh…what that zapping us about has done to her metabolism? Aaaaah….she may even be happy. After all, she's harboured a deathwish for about a decade, she is getting what she wants now, isn't she…oooooh! ISN'T SHE? "

The last words the black woman screamed at him, " YOU are going to kill us! Vimi, me, my baby…my baby! Aaaah, my baby!"

Aiolia was close to a deathwish himself. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He was a warrior, his purpose, his _duty_ was to kill, swiftly and mercilessly, anyone who violated Sanctuary. That was to say, anyone designated as a legitimate target by Sanctuary.

The false pope, Saga had called for Milo and himself to kill the rebel Saints, and Scorpio had protested, not because he felt it morally wrong, but because killing Bronzes was beneath a Gold. He, Aiolia, Gold Leo, had volunteered for the job. What did that make him? After he had left, Milo had told him later, the pope had said, calculatingly, that if Leo killed Pegasus, it would prove his loyalty; if, on the contrary, Seiya would vanquish him, then a potential traitor would be removed. "At that point," Milo had said, "I began to wonder at our leader. In the secrecy of my mind, I questioned his worth. It was that nagging doubt that made me fail against Hyoga's utter conviction."

And the strange thing was that the Bronzes had not fought for Athena. They had not even liked her back then. They had fought because it was the right thing to do. If she had been an impostor, if they had known that, they would have done exactly the same.

Taking hostages was wrong. Keeping people prisoner was wrong. Killing them was wrong.

Then what _was_ the right thing to do?

He was a healer. Even as a child, before he had so much as developed a _sixth_ sense, let alone a seventh, he had been sensitive to other people's hurts, physical or emotional. Perhaps because had been hurt so much himself he wanted to make them better, and one day he had found out that he could. It had astonished him, for it was totally against the nature of the lion that was his sign: a fierce, feline predator that knows no mercy for his prey. Healing was more suited to Mu, the gentle Aries. He had questioned his fellow Saint about it once. 

"Why should you_ not_ have the nature of a healer, Aiolia? You are not Leo, any more than I am Aries. We merely wear the Cloth. We have our own personalities. Look at Milo: whatever else he is, he hasn't a treacherous bone in his body, for all that he is the wearer of Scorpio! Now, don't growl at me, I know you don't like him. You have to admit though that as Saints go, he is one of the better ones. He hasn't had all humanity stamped out of him, not like some I could mention, nor have you. You are one of the best! Despite the hard time you've been given in the years after your brother 's 'defection'; you kept the warmth in your heart. You are a generous, sensitive and caring person, Aiolia, and that has _nothing _to do with your Sainthood!"

He had been rather embarrassed by Mu's praise. The words had been spoken with such quiet sincerity, and that was not the Mu he knew at all. The Aries Saint's personality was difficult to grasp. He could be both gentle and hard as nails. During the Poseidon episode he had revealed himself a totally dedicated and obedient Saint, ready to execute Dokho's orders to the letter. Yet a few days later he had opposed the will of Sion, his own Master! And fourteen years previously, _he_ had helped Aioros escape. He had witnessed the fight between the false pope and the Sagittarius Saint, and he had crept out of hiding to heal Aioros as best as he could after that one had been cast from the Hall of the Pope down into a deep crevasse by Saga's blast. His efforts had prolonged Aioros's life long enough for the dying Saint to drag himself, baby Athena and his Cloth box out of Sanctuary's reach. Mu too had fled, to Jamir, where he had established himself as a healer of Cloths. That ability saved him from Saga's wrath. Had Mu been aware of the deception? Probably not, or he would have done everything to avenge Sion. It must have been hard for Mu, all those years of doubt, torn between knowing that the traitor he had seen trying to kill Athena was his own Master, and yet knowing that Sion was a true and loyal servant of the Goddess. What a relief, the realisation at last that his master was innocent of the crime, and that he had seen Saga in guise of the Pope! 

How old had Mu been at he time? A child, surely, they had all been children then, Gold Saints by default: only Aioros, Aphrodite, Saga, Shura, Shaka and Deathmask had properly speaking fully gained their Cloths, and Cancer and Virgo had been the youngest of the lot.

He himself and the others had been nominally Gold Saints, but effectively still trainees.

Leo and Taurus there had been long-standing vacancies, the previous occupants of the positions having died in office almost a century before, and none had been found worthy of vying for the Gold Cloths in all that time. The previous Scorpio had been executed on Sion's orders for his excesses (Leaving a trail of corpses. The man had been Master to Milo, Aphrodite and Deathmask, and it was obvious the latter two had learned their lessons well; and yet Deathmask had not challenged his Master, always the way of promotion in Sanctuary, but the Cancer Saint, and against all odds, had won. Aiolia wondered at that now.) Camu's teacher had fallen in a cleft in a glacier, impaling himself on an icy stalagmite in the process, while trying to preserve his young pupil from that very fate. Shaka had simply taken over when his master had died of old age - a thing unheard in the whole history of Sainthood, though Milo had unkindly suggested that he had simply meditated himself to death. The Pisces Saint before Aphrodite had been the first woman in Sanctuary, something she had managed to keep secret from all but her lover Capricornus. When she had fallen pregnant, they had fled. Fully aware that opting out was punishable by death. They had found refuge in the north, in Sweden, Capricorn's home country, for a couple of years. Then Sanctuary's own brand of implacable justice had caught up with them. Yet their child was raised in Sanctuary, and given the chance to atone for his parent's misdeeds: Aphrodite. 

Shura had become Capricornus after he had fought bravely against insurrectionist Ice Saints. Once their rebellious leader dead at the hand of the young trainee, the remaining Warriors went into exile beyond the Polar Circle, led by a wise and kindly Russian called Piotr.

Being a twin Saga had been destined for the Gemini Cloth, though no one except Sion knew of the existence of Kanon. After the death of their respective Masters (the Gemini's demise was another one of Sanctuary's little mysteries it was best not to ponder on) Saga had taken over the further training of Milo, Aphrodite and Camu, while Aioros had taken Aiolia and Aldebaran under his wings. Like most Saints his brother had gained his Cloth by defeating his Master in mortal combat.

Perhaps that was what Mu had meant by having had one's humanity stamped out of one. It all depended on the Master. Saga had been evil inside, and Aioros had not, and that had reflected on their pupils. Milo's ruthlessness and Camu's cold had their origins in Saga.

__

"And history repeats itself, a new generation of Saints is forming from orphans collected by Julian Solo, and trained by the surviving Silvers and Bronzes, as well as the Marina general Sorrent and Thetys the Mermaid. It is necessary."

He, Aiolia, could heal broken bodies, but what of broken minds? For broken they would be: warped and twisted and wrecked.

__

"Goddess, where do these thoughts come from? This is not me. This is rebellious behaviour. I must trust in Athena. These seeds of doubt must be rooted out."

He sounded like Shaka. Was this what he wanted to become? 

__

"It is not what I want. It is what I must do. My duty as a Saint is all that matters. It is the sacrifice we must make for Peace and Justice on Earth. For Athena is all that stands between the world and the Gods that seek to dominate it."

He reached out with his hand, his healing hand, for Vimi.

To take her life would be a kindness, Shaka would say. If she had been suffering from depression for ten years then she was not likely to recover, ever. He could ease her way into the death she desired.

As he touched her, he touched her spirit.

No Saintly attack had ever hurt him so badly. Physical pain was nothing compared to this horror of psychological anguish.

And then, like a switch from night to day, the elation, the euphoria, the mania. He had been nothing, worth nothing, and now he was everything. Impossible no longer existed. Why not jump over the moon? He could. Of course he could. Why not? He could pluck the stars and juggle with the sun. Why not? The future was his for the taking, the future…no future, there was none for him, he was back in the deepest darkest depths of depression a quagmire that sucked him further and further in…

No! He was a Saint! Nothing could bring him down, he was _invincible!_

And that, again, was the mania speaking. Goddess! The woman had a power to frighten the Saints themselves. To touch her mind was to trigger one's own mental destruction. She had to be eliminated. 

His soul bleeding from the contact, almost ripped out but still there, he was still in control, that generous, sensitive caring soul…he would kill her.

Somewhere, a baby cried.

__

To be continued.

Author's note:

This chapter was written a month or so ago with Mikis Theodorakis still fresh in mind: the Greek composer who declared that Jews are the root of evil and that their society had produced nothing better than Abraham and Jakob whereas 'we Greeks had the great Pericles'. I wanted one of the Goldies to reflect the 'Greece is the navel of the world and only we (and, oh, very well, the other white Europeans) are entitled to the sacred Cloths' attitude we see in Cassios and others. Of the three Greek candidates, Saga has already plenty of problems and Aiolia is not like that at all, so the lot fell on Milo. Impulsive, gung-ho, very much a black-and-white thinker (unavoidable with his kind of upbringing), he obviously is very intelligent and lacks intellectual challenge, therefore he harbours a lot of resentment. All in all a very likeable young man. Keep in mind that he IS so very young, barely out of adolescence. Where he sees a wrong, he is ready to start a crusade, without much reflection. He stands not alone in that: Hyoga/Ilya, Ikki, Miho, Seika etc. all are like that, one has every hope they will grow out of it. Only Shun and Mu seem to be mature enough to think 'grey'. 

__

"


	32. Ascension : Virgo

Virgo

In the last seconds before the dustcloud hit him, mr. Field realised that their chances of survival where minimal. He knew what it could do to the lungs. As a young man he had lived through several bombardments on London during the war. His parents had sent him to a small Catholic school in England on the south coast that took in boarders, but the threat of invasion in 1940 had been such that the school was closed down, and young Hubert Field had finished his schooling at Eton* instead, which had instilled in him a horror of the system, even though he had made a lifelong friend there: Frederic Mountjoy. In July 1942 he had knocked on the doors of the Special Services, announcing that he was a conscientious objector as far as killing Germans was concerned, being himself part one, but that he had no hang-ups about fighting the Japs, and could they use someone who spoke both lingo's as well as Malayan? As it happened, they could, but not before thoroughly checking him out first, and so he was interned for a while with other conscientious objectors, and forced to work (often amidst the jeers of countrymen who regarded them as cowards and traitors) with the London fire department clearing the victims from under the rubble after every German air- strike. Though the worst of the Blitz was over by then, he had seen too many corpses, and too many people who were still alive but later died of internal injuries, casualties of breathing in too much stone-dust and particle debris. They had choked to death. 

__

"My wife, my son…"

He heard them cough.

__

"The boy was right, it was too dangerous. We should never have come. Folly…but oh, my Vimi, and Laura, and the baby…"

And suddenly he could breathe again. The air was pure. Though all around the cloud billowed, over the little group of father, mother and son a protective aura was spread. A man in Golden Cloth was shielding them. 

Saga.

Gratitude and relief flooded mr. Field. His eyes sought the Gemini Saint's in an unspoken 'thank you'. 

The man had clearly been weeping, and well he might: if Shun was right, then his twin brother had just been killed. Words could not serve to tell him how sorry he was. Yet if he were any judge of character, the Gemini Saint would not want this either. Sometimes, people are best left alone to grieve.

"It is over. You can go. Go!"

They struggled to their feet. Mrs. Field cast a glance at Saga, saw, understood, and went past. Esk, upon a nudge from his father, followed suit. Outside they looked upon he smoking ruins of the Cancer Temple. Behind them, on the zodiacal clock, the light of Leo was wavering.

"All is destroyed…"

"The boys, oh, my God, where is the boy?" whispered mrs. Field.

They staggered up the stairs, until, halfway, Esk gave a cry: " There! There's two of them!"

Shun and Ikki descended to meet the family.

Mr. Field awaited them hands on hips and frowning. 

"Young man, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, was it necessary to bring the house down? We nearly suffocated!"

The two brothers looked at him and then each other, rather sheepishly. As Saints they were trained to hold their breath for over long periods, so even the giant dust- and steamcloud brought about by the destruction of Main Blade Winner had not hindered them, and therefore it had not occurred to them that pulverising the Cancer Temple would have such dire effects on ordinary mortals.

"I'm sorry." said Shun contrite, "We wanted to make sure that nothing remained of Deathmask and his deeds. By the way, this is my brother Ikki."

"Welcome on the team." said mr. Field, clasping Phoenix's hand, "Glad to have you."

After a brief introduction and explanation (neither of the brothers was keen on going into the details of what they had witnessed) Ikki suggested they had better move on, if the family was still determined to continue.

"We need a breather." Esk told him," My parents are not up to so many stairs in one go."

"Not a problem." said Shun with a laugh, " We can carry you."

To demonstrate he swept mrs.Field up in his arms.

"Oh dear! This hasn't happened to me since our wedding!"

"I remember that." growled mr. Field, " Eight floors up and the lift was out of order, I nearly broke my back. Oh no you don't, young fellow, I am _not_ going to be carried like a blushing bride, a piggy-back will do for me, thank you."

And so, with mr. Field scowling that he felt quite like Anchises ** on Ikki's back, and mrs.Field giggling like a young girl in Shun's arms, and Esk panting behind, up they went, through to the Leo Temple. 

The fifth flame was guttering like a candle as they arrived. 

And were greeted by the screaming of a new-born baby.

"What the hell was that? " asked Ikki.

" A baby, or I am no father." said mr. Field, "But what child…"

"Your grandchild, Cap." came a familiar voice from the doorway, " Say hello to Daddy and Grams and Gramps, little Roo!"

"Laura ! Laura!" shouted Esk, "My Laura, my child, my darlings, you are alive, alive!"

After the first explosions of enthusiasm among the Fields, questions, recriminations and tears mixed with the joy. 

"Skippy, love, _how_ did you…"

"The usual way, my dear, though next time I _insist_ on hospital with all the trimmings. Much more comfortable."

"That's my plucky girl." said mr. Field glowing with pride.

Mrs Field was holding the baby, wrapped in some white material (a piece torn off Leo's mantle) and cooing: "Just look at him, isn't he perfect? Look Hubert, he is going to be a redhead, just like you, look!"

"That bastard who took you away from us, made me miss the birth of my son! You could have _died!"_

Shun and Ikki, slightly embarrassed at witnessing to private a family affair and happy at the same tome because the Fields were happy, smiled. Shaina, who had reappeared in Sanctuary a week previously and had immediately contacted Shun, whom, she had told him, she had felt sure she could trust, had put them in the picture. Both were more than ready to help those marvellous people in return for what they had done for their friends. Including, if needed, fighting Aiolia.

"Where is Vimi? Is she with you?" Mrs. Field, divided between grandmotherly pride and motherly concern, looked for her daughter.

"Inside, you had better see for yourself." Answered Skippy quietly.

All went in, apprehensive of what they would see. 

A dark, golden brown glow emanated from the hunched body of a young man: Leo. He was on his knees, and in his arms he held a woman. Long, silvery blonde hair trailed over is chest where her head rested. 

"He is deep in healing trance!" exclaimed Shun.

Mrs Field was down by her daughter in a flash.

"Poesje! Mijn kindje! Wat doet hij met je?"***

Ikki kept her from interfering.

"Don't touch them! He is not harming but helping."

"Wat zeg je? Mijn kindje, dat hij haar loslaat!"****

"Helena! Calm down. The boy said something about a healing trance…"

""Aiolia is gifted with a great power. I suppose Scorpio hurt her, Leo intervened and had to heal her…"said Ikki.

"Healing? " asked mrs. Field in a tight voice as her husband hurried to her side, and she clutched his arm, " Making better? Hubert?"

"Queer spoke to me of this possibility…something Ilya told him. You saw it done with Pauline…I…did not want to say anything yet…we have so often had hope…"

"Oh Hubert, if he could, if he would…"

"Perhaps he _is_ "

"Vimi was not hurt." said Skippy, " Unless it was teleportation, which also had an effect on me, by the way. The other fellow 'beamed' us here. She went…I don't know, crazy like, and then _this_ one took her and, well, they have been like that ever since."

"Right." said mr. Field. "Let's straighten this out. We have reached part of our objective, which is getting you girls free. We need to find the others now. Helena, stay here with the children. When that lion chap snaps out of his trance you will lead them all back to the helicopter and pull out."

"Provided the lion will let us leave." said Esk

"Which is why you, Shun, will stay as well." said mr.Field, turning to the Andromeda Saint, 

"I place the fate of my family in your hands, my boy. Do whatever you have to do, but see them safe!"

Shun nodded.

"Phoenix, you and I are going in search of my other sons and my friend, and complete the other part of the mission, which is to meet Athena. Let's go."

Ikki followed the man without protest. He liked the quiet authority of mr. Field, so different from what he was used to.

"Have you noticed? That is the first time he refers to Nick as his son." said Esk.

"He knows well how Nick loves Vimi. Not many men would, a girl in her condition, and Hubert deeply respects him for that."

""If this story is to have a happy ending, there will be wedding bells in it." said Esk, and then he returned to the adoration of his own wife and son.

The flame of Virgo had lost much of its brilliance as the Phoenix Saint and mr. Field reached the corresponding Temple. Along the way the Englishman had Ikki fill him in on all he knew of the Saint they were about to face.

"Shaka is completely self-assured and in control of his emotions. He never doubts, or when he does, he chases that doubt away with meditation. He sees himself as the man closest to God, a reincarnation of Buddha no less."

"Which one? As I understand it there are at least five original Buddha's, and endless Boddhisatvas who reincarnate as well. I have personally met the present incarnation of two: the Panchen and the Dalai Lama.***** Tenzin Gyatso may be the spiritual and political leader in exile of Tibet, but he struck me as far to modest a man to claim being closest to God. Nor did he ever mind that I didn't believe he was the incarnation of anything but himself."

"Shaka has had regular conversations with God, or the Big Will or whatever since childhood. He is utterly convinced that the life of one man compared to the immensity of a universe which will one day disappear anyway is nothing. Oh, and the words compassion and mercy do not figure in his vocabulary, save to say that he has none. "

"Charming. Reminds me of my time in the Service. Some chaps were utter nutcases in the end; had to be put out of harm's way. Nothing more dangerous than a fully trained commando with delusions of grandeur. Except the deskjockeys who send them out in the field forgetting that they deal with real people, made of flesh and blood. But I suppose that kind of attitude is instilled with your mother's milk in Sanctuary. 

"Actually, Shaka grew up in a Buddhist monastery in India."

"India? Siddharta Gautama, the Buddha, was Indian, but the country is still largely Hindu and Muslim with a few other religions thrown in as well. Anyway this Shaka fellow sounds very different from my brother-in-law Lama Dorje. Just goes to show how every creed has its various interpretations. Dorje quite literally will not hurt a fly. That is true Buddhism. I've only ever known him flip his lid on the subject of Martial Arts. He does not object to his brother's violence, because Tsarong, as a Khamba warrior, does not try to justify himself: he kills people because he wants to, he does not package violence with convoluted philosophy that high kicks that can hurt and kill people are just another form of meditation to learn to know and control oneself better. 'A weapon is a weapon, and a Martial Arts expert is a live weapon.' Dorje used to say. I can only concur. In the Service we too were killers, and we told ourselves that it was for honour and King and Country. Bullshit."

"I would love to see Shaka's face when you tell him that." said Ikki with a dry chuckle.

"Then you shall, Phoenix." said the Virgo Saint, appearing hovering in lotus position some five feet above the ground in his Temple's cella, " I trust my expression is to your liking." 

All mr. Field had seen of Shaka was a blurry picture of a black and white surveillance video, so he was not prepared for the shock of meeting him. From Ilya's description he had gathered that Shaka was blonde and pale-eyed, and though he knew that there were blue-eyed Brahmin in India and that even blonde hair was possible, but so rare that he had presumed that like Jane the Chamaeleon, the young man was a kidnapped white child.

He was not.

Shaka was indeed Indian, and an albino. 

In the forty years since leaving SOE, mr. Field had not forgotten basic training. Observing the young man to the smallest details, he drew his conclusions and chose what course to take.

"So. You are the leader of the opposition. Have you heard that the Warriors of Blue Graad are sacking Rodorio? What do you intent doing about it?"

Shaka ignored him.

"You have escaped death many times, Phoenix, including death at my hands. I shall not allow doubt to rule my spirit this time."

"Excuse me, but aren't you going to answer this man's question?"

"Question? I hear but the yapping of a small dog that thinks he can take on a God. One does not pay attention to such."

Mr. Filed was far too experienced and far too adult a man to allow himself to be drawn by the deliberate insult. Ikki however was of lesser mettle still. 

"One should. One might actually learn something."

Opiuchus, Chamaeleon and Taurus are quite capable of settling the affair." said Shaka.

"And when they have done your dirty work for you, you won't be challenged by Aleksej anymore."

"That is a bonus, yes."

__

"Freddie would enlist that fellow at once. He reminds me of why I left the service: of what I might have become had I stayed."

"Would your next step be eliminating your Pope?"

Shaka unfolded his long legs and touched earth. For the first time he acknowledged Mr. Field's presence.

"Dokho has been appointed Pope by the Goddess."

"Agreed. Yet Aleksej was also appointed by Athena." said Ikki.

"A miscalculation. At the time none of us had returned yet and there was no knowing if we ever would. She had no choice but to replenish her depleted forces with lesser quality."

"Yes, and since the three who stand up for Rodorio are Dokho's followers, it would not be too bad a thing if they somehow succumb to that 'lesser quality'. A pity the Pope himself will not come out to put down the Russian Revolt - what a chance for Shaka to step in should Dokho 'unfortunately' meet his death! One has to think of everything, does one not, when playing the Great Game?" said mr. Field.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh but you do, and that is the trouble. You are excellent at the Game, too. My felicitations. Incidentally, may I also compliment you on your command of the Japanese tongue? It _is_ useful, is it not, to know the language of the opposition, particularly when they are not aware you do. A pity that you had to show your cards so early in the game."

"You talk too much. Because you are a mere mortal, I will grant you a chance to save your life. Turn aside from your road: death awaits you in my Temple."

"I cannot turn back." said mr. Field quietly," Four men that I love are in danger somewhere ahead. "

"If they are yet alive, they will die, as you will."

"Not if I can help it!" cried out Ikki, " I did not understand half of what you two were saying even though you spoke Japanese, but I will defend the Englishman with my life! His courage is greater and his cause nobler than ours ever was."

"I do not doubt his courage, and admire it as you do." answered Shaka, " His cause however is a petty and selfish one. What are the lives of four people? A drop in the ocean of infinity. It is the world Athena protects"

"Ah, the Bigger Picture, I did wonder when that would crop up." said mr. Field, " One makes everything subservient to it, until it becomes so big a picture that it blots out all others. Nothing like a believer to cure you from every form of extreme Faith. I have debriefed dozens of believers in my time: boys and men, who, in the light of their Ideal, could perfectly justify the War, the Concentration Camps, the crimes committed for Fuehrer and Emperor. Denazification was the hardest part of the Liberation: you can fight the soldiers on the beaches of Normandy and in the jungles of Burma, but you can not root out the Ideal. In their minds, they were right and that was their tragedy. We, the Allies, were similarly blind to our faults. And yet you are not altogether wrong, Virgo Saint Shaka."

"How can you say that!" burst out Ikki, " Of course he is wrong. He _has _to be wrong: one only has to count the corpses."

"True." agreed mr. Field," But your arithmetic won't work. He will tell you that the corpses were necessary sacrifices and so they are if you take his Bigger Picture. We too have our corpses, our necessary sacrifices, that weigh on our conscience."

"Little, compared to his pile." said Ikki venomously, "And they don't weigh on his conscience at all, for he doesn't have one. "

"That is the difference between us." said mr. Field, approaching Shaka till he almost touched him, " And so you will try to kill me, ruthlessly and efficiently, without regret. Whereas I would be weighed down forever, where I to kill _you. _Though I would try to do so just as ruthlessly and efficiently."

So speaking mr.Field brought up his hand to Shaka's face, as if to caress him, and suddenly, as it reached the Virgo Saint's left temple, there was a small gun in it, and he pulled the trigger.

"Missed." said Shaka, reappearing at some distance, " Did you really believe you could kill me?"

"Not for one moment." 

"I was aware from the start that you kept a weapon hidden in your sleeve. You are not an honourable man."

"Not at all." agreed mr.Field, " I was trained to be a spy: to do what is necessary with all possible means, including lying, cheating, and slitting someone's throat from behind. I even lied to my family about it: they still think the Service picked me out for that line of work. Not something to be proud of, but it is what I chose to do. The alternative was to be a regular soldier, and kill poor sods from the opposite side who probably did not want to be in the war anyway. And they came home and were told they were heroes. War isn't heroic: it is dirty and degrading. No medals, no parades for the spies, the shadowsoldiers, though! Not quite cricket what they do. Bad sports. The English have that sense of' honour' too, you know. Perhaps that is why I live in Belgium, where lying and cheating is a way of life and tax evasion a national sport. The lovely thing about Belgians is that you can tell that to their face and they will quite agree, even add more crimes and misdemeanors to the list. ******Knowing one's faults, admitting them and accepting criticism is a sign of maturity. I considered myself lucky for forty years that I never had to kill a man, and believed my own 'denazification' was complete. Apparently the old instincts are still there, ready for use when my family is threatened."

He smiled.

" I can easily uncover the lie beneath your earlier words now. You would have me believe that you think my values are equal to yours. You do not. Hypocrite! In reality, you judge your values best. You patronise me."

"No he doesn't!" shouted Ikki, angry almost beyond words, " What does he have to do to please you? He meets you halfway, he tries to _understand, _and you spit in his face! _He_ minds killing terribly. _You _never give anyone a chance and chase all doubt from your mind and then swat people like flies _and you never listen or think about what they tell you!"_

"You are over-emotional, Phoenix. That is your handicap. It clouds your judgement. Doubt is death to a Saint."

"But _life_ to a human being! You doubted once, Shaka, don't you remember? You saved me from limbo because of that doubt! And you were right! Do it again. Use that grey stuff the Englishman failed to blow out of your thick skull and for once, _think!"_

"Instead of shouting you had better commend your soul to God." said Shaka, "For I will destroy you."

"Oh, please, not again! You can try. And it is no good cutting off my senses or hit me with the Treasure of _flipping_ Heaven, 'cause I've had it before. I will resist you."

"Oh, you are both so very young." murmured mr.Field, "So very intense. How nice it used to be to feel so deeply about a thing!"

"All of your attacks are known to be too." said Shaka," Manifestly we are equal. Yet I am the reincarnation of Buddha, and you are no more than a monkey in my palm."

"As a point of interest," began mr. Field casually, "How come a Buddhist with the Brahmin, feminine caste symbol on her brow ends up an astrological symbol working for a Greek Goddess?"

The inconceivable happened. Shaka opened his eyes, and there lay apprehension, if not direct fear in them.

Ikki was no less astonished.

"Brahmin? Feminine?_Her?!_"

"I was in India for a brief period, so I could be wrong about it, but as far as I know only women of the highest caste, the Brahmin, wear such a dot to mark their status. Men, I believe, are recognisable by the way they fold their turban. Anyway, the caste symbol, though not religious in se, is mostly practised among the Hindu, rarely among the other Indians, and the Indian government has tried to abolish the caste system anyway. To a true Buddhist it would be an abomination. A creed that demands respect for the smallest insect can not hold with such social divisions in society, and certainly not with calling people pariahs, unclean, unfit for anything but the dirtiest work. Still, it happens. I don't mind if a Brahmin recoils from my very shadow, but it is hard on a pariah. 

"So that is why you always stand with your back to the sun, eh, Skaka? Afraid our shadows would soil you. And you are really a girl underneath. You should be wearing the Mask. Who is the hypocrite now?" laughed Ikki, delighted to have caught out the lofty Virgo Saint, " you've managed to hide your boobs quite well over the years, or are they just two peas on a plank? Maybe you took too many of those pills they make Saints swallow daily."

"Ah. My son drew the right conclusion about anabolic steroids. " muttered mr. Field, and added, louder: " There is no need to be rude, Ikki. It was her choice."

"Indeed. My choice. " said Shaka, regaining her composure (though she did not close her eyes), " Male and female are irrelevant in Sainthood. They are the same."

"Marin will be delighted. Can she take her Mask off then without having to kill or marry the man who sees her face? Wasn't the last woman who pretended to be a man in Sanctuary executed?"

"She was, because she wished to be a woman before she was a Saint. I laid aside all considerations of my sex long ago, and reached Enlightenment, the abandonment of all desire, through meditation before ever coming to Sanctuary. Therefore I was granted the privilege of going without the Mask. There was no deceit; and no one saw me as a woman either."

"Not flesh and blood like the rest of us? I'd like to see that." said Ikki with a wicked glint in his eyes that alarmed mr. Field. Without warning the Phoenix Saint barged into Shaka, stripping away the burgundy coloured toga that she wore when not in Cloth as they fell bodily to the ground, Ikki on top.

"_I _am flesh and blood, and I have learned a thing or two, Virgo. Have you truly abandoned desire? How will your _body_ react to temptation?" whispered Ikki, as he pressed his lips on hers.

__

"How far I would have gone had Cap not intervened I can't say." Ikki would confess, much later, shamefacedly and privately, to Shun, _"I truly don't know if rape was on my mind. I had a lot of anger in me. But I suppose I am quite capable of it…what do you think, little bro'?"_

"Did you mean to hurt her?"

"Yes…yes. I did. I wanted to punish her for all the airs she gave herself. Demanding that I bowed to her like a God. Her damned self-righteousness. The attitude. 'I am closest to God'! 'I know no doubt!' How I detested that! I wanted to see her brought low, to see fear on that serene face for once..."

"Did you?"

"A glimpse. A mere hint."

"Did it give you satisfaction?"

"Probably more than I would if I had raped her. What a bastard I am. What do you think of me now, Shun?"

"Surely you do not expect me to despise you for what you almost did? I never have for what you did do."

"I am not surprised. Magnanimity was a lesson you never needed to learn, little bro'. It took me awhile: with your help and our new family, I may eventually get there."

A strong hand grabbed Ikki by the scruff of the neck.

"No!"

The Phoenix saint found himself staring into the furious face of mr. Field.

"You came to help, but if this is how you go about it, I am better without. Go! Away with you!"

"You tried to shoot her moments ago! What kind of logic is that? She will thank you with taking your life."

"Nevertheless. Call it my own particular brand of honour. We are at war: under my command, as long as Freddie Mountjoy is missing. And you will wage war my way; or I have no use for you."

Ignoring the bewildered Ikki after that, Mr. Field extended his hand to Shaka to help her to her feet.

"Don't treat me like you would a feeble woman!" she spat back, and slapped his hand aside. She rose and stood naked, defiant, facing the men.

"Take a good look at me! I was born female, and an albino. I was left at the door of a Buddhist monastery. All my parents gave me was life, and the symbol on my forehead, that I might be treated according to their caste, for they were Brahmin. The nuns that raised me taught me to meditate. Forced by my albino nature to keep my eyes closed in the sun, I gained uncommon strength. Yet boys are favoured, and I decided to negate my femininity. Would my parents have abandoned me had I been male? " 

Her voice trembled a little, betraying emotions she denied having.

"I chose to keep the mark. Through my meditation and my heightened awareness, I entered in communication with the Big Will, and because of that the nuns allowed me to be what I wanted. Not long after my Master came for me and brought me to Sanctuary: but I had already surpassed him, and left the world behind."

"And you obviously thought the world was ready to leave you behind." said mr. Field, taking off his Monty-coat. "Here, put this on." 

She refused, proudly, disdainfully.

"What need do I have of clothes? Neither the cold nor the lecherous looks of men can touch me."

"Yes, yes, but my wife will have something to say about those looks." said mr. Field irritably, "Didn't the nuns teach you to say, politely, 'yes, thank you', or, alternatively, 'no, thank you' when someone offers you something out of kindness?"

Ikki guffawed.

"Meditate on that!"

Shaka did not move or speak. 

"As you wish." said mr. Field, folding the coat and laying it on the top step, " Take it, leave it, do as you please. I am done here."

He passed the Saint to stand in the doorway

"Wait!" cried Shaka, " Foolish man, I told you: your death awaits you there."

"Somehow I doubt it."

The shadows of the Virgo Temple took him.

Shaka still did not move.

"Well, aren't you going in after him? Take away his taste, smell, sight and the rest, teach him the lesson in humility like you did me?" asked Ikki 

"Why? Why does he do it?" whispered Shaka, staring at her Temple as if willing the Englishman to return.

"Ikki sighed. "You _never_ listen. He does it because he loves his children. Some parents do care. There was a lesson to be learned here, for both of us, I guess. Question is, will we learn? The coat is a gift from him to you. You can, of course, throw it away, but somehow I doubt it. That is _my_ gift to you: that doubt."

He entered the Temple.

Shaka, alone, still naked, wrapped her arms about her. She shivered. Then she bent down and picked up the coat.

It was old, threadbare in places, and smelled slightly of male sweat and mostly of tobacco. Not an unpleasant mixture. Slowly, she put it on. 

Behind her, the flame of Virgo faded.

"Six Temples they have passed. The worst is yet to come. I wonder, will you reach the end? For my part….I accept…both your gifts."

__

To be continued.

*Eton is the school to prepare for the military: Eton boys will move on to Sandhurst and the Army. They don't just let anybody in, but it was probably known that mr. Field's father had been a volunteer for the defence of Singapore. For this, he was posthumously given the DSO.

** According to legend, Aeneas when fleeing from burning Troy carried his aged father Anchises on his back 

***Kitten! My (little) child! What is he doing to you?

**** What are you saying? My child, (he must) let go of her!

*****There are currently two Panchen Lama's: one imposed on Tibet by the Chinese government, the other, chosen the traditional way and appointed by the Dalai Lama, is one of the worlds youngest political prisoners: Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. The Chinese government hopes to appoint the next Dalai Lama as well. 

****** Quite true. Most Belgians take only pride in their beer, chips and chocolate and would be quite surprised if a foreigner had something good to say of their national character.

__

I have taken some liberties in this chapter (which I wrote immediately following the previous one, and five more to follow in one go! Phew!) but it all appears quite logical to me. When I first saw Shaka in the anime, I did wonder why a man would wear the feminine Brahmin mark. In the manga it is little more than a dot, so Kurumada probably meant it to be symbolic of his enlightenment and reincarnation. However, Shaka is considerably more feminine in appearance than the others, and it reflects in 'her' weight: she is 68 kilos and as tall as Mu (1.82) who weighs 85, and he too is a slim Asiatic! So I opted for a female Shaka, Brahmin and caste-conscious. I never thought her much of a Buddhist. To quote the Dalai Lama: 'I will continue to strive for a solution via direct and open discussions with the Chinese. I am convinced that if the parties concerned meet each other and speak of the future openly with the will to come to a good solution, there will be reached a breakthrough. With reason and wisdom as a starting-point we must come together in an atmosphere of openness and understanding.' (In a recent letter to the ICT, International Campaign for Tibet) Shaka and the rest urgently need to meet the man! Finally, being an albino seemed logical because she is so pale and keeps her eyes closed even as a child. Failing sunglasses, she would have to, or go blind eventually (no, albinos do not have red eyes, that is rabbits.)

The last words Ikki speaks ro Shaka are inspired by the last line of the David Lean movie 'Ryan's Daughter'.


	33. Ascension: Libra

Libra.

Put me down, now, son." said mr. Field, "I am not so old that I can't walk sometimes."

Neither man had spoken of what had passed in the Virgo Temple. Mr. Field, because he was not given to recriminations after the facts while still in the middle of action, and besides, having spoken his piece he felt it was up to the young people themselves to reflect (or not).

Which was what Ikki was doing. Not a man of words, the Phoenix Saint had decided that from now on, the best thing to do was to show by his actions that he had understood the message. 

The rest was, as they say, water under the bridge.

"The Libra Temple will be empty. We won't be hindered. 

"Son, the first thing an officer learns is never to take for granted that an area is secure unless he has had it secured himself. The ones who don't apply that rule are the ones who don't survive. Do your telepathy thing. Is it safe or not?"

"Yes…No! A Saint has come to guard it!" cried Ikki, and all but dropped the Englishman, 

"Stay here, I can handle this."

"Whoa! Can't we go round? Avoid confrontation?"

"No."

Ikki went into the Libra Temple without another word. 

Mr Field shrugged, and went to sit on the top step. From the pocket of his uniform he produced pipe and tobacco. "A bit chilly for an outside smoke, but there you are." he told himself, " Wait and see, Hubert, wait and see." 

He sighed.

__

"When this is over I need to have a long talk with Dorje. It's time I came in the clear about my past. Of all the people I know, he understands best how difficult it is to come to terms with one's conscience. When Tsarong joined the Khamba guerrilla's he had a hard time torn between love for his brother, his people and his country, and his belief in non-violence. Everyone is capable of violence: honest is he who admits it is wrong although he chooses to use it. It took courage and wisdom for Dorje to respect Tsarong's_ choice, though he_ _regretted the violence, and that makes him truly a Lama._ _'War is evil, not the fact that sometimes you have to participate in it' he would say. Yes, I must talk to him soon. He can help these young men, if anyone can. "_

He did not feel proud of his assassination-attempt on the Virgo Saint. But it went against the grain to let others -_children_- do his fighting for him, and he had become convinced that mere words had little effect on the Saints. Desperate actions, on the other hand, showed them his determination. It was the only thing they seemed to respect. 

Briefly, mr.Field reflected on Shaka's accusations of hypocrisy and patronising. 

__

"Echoes," he chuckled, _"Of what Esk and Nick used to call me long –no, not so long ago- when they threw their adolescent crisis. Well, everyone's entitled. Didn't I have mine back in '42 when all I wanted was kill the Jap, but not the Jerry, hell, no, I 'm half Jerry, I'll never be able to look Mutti in the face again, but Japs now, that's different, and look what they did to the Chinese and the Koreans and what they are doing to Dad and Mutti right now! That was young Hubert Field. Going to Japan in '45 knocked some sense into me. It wasn't Hiroshima or Nagasaki, either, not yet, not then, God, no, I used to believe those horrors were a perfectly justifiable act of war, then! It was the brothels. First I thought: 'what kind of people have a government that advertises for such a thing, telling their own women it was their patriotic duty to go flat on their backs for the conquering heroes?' * But the conquering heroes, the champions of democratic values and human rights, they didn't actually protest to what was on offer, did they? No, no, a fellow is entitled to a little rest and recreation and besides, it's part of these people's culture, the Geisha thing , gotta respect that. Bollocks! _

And then there was the horror of Nazi-Germany -no different**!- with the whole-scale destruction, the Camps, the D.P.'s,*** and 'our boys' buying German women for the night for food, well, young Hubert Field quickly learned the fundamental lessons about the Human Race. 1.: Everybody is capable of beastly, abject violence. 2.: Everybody lies. 3.: Everybody cheats. 4.: Everyone thinks himself a cut above the rest. 5.: Everyone is a hypocrite about his own failings, until he is mature enough to recognise them."

"A little hypocrisy goes a long way where the truth will only hurt; and patronising is a parent's privilege. Get over it!" Mr. Field had told his children, " Don't feel all misunderstood and slightedwhen things aren't what you want them to be or people tell you something about yourself you don't like! Grow up. Learn. Do something about it! Take it like a man! And ditto for women!"

Of the bunch, little Queer listening to his father admonishing his elder siblings had taken the words most to hard. Unlike Esk and Nick he had not been 'Anti' during his adolescent bouts, not anti-establishment, not anti-authoritarian, anti-reactionary, anti-everything, nor had he been, like Vimi, sulky, slimming and sliding into anorexia and from there on to the even more downwards slope to manic-depression. Instead quick-witted and sharp-tongued Queer had been one big comedy-act, mocking all and sundry including himself. But underneath there had been, and still was, a sensitive and _very_ young man. Nick and Esk had seen that, and had helped him, and so doing had helped themselves grow towards maturity. Vimi too, locked in her own desperate combat, had helped. 

Mister Field was proud of his children. 

The first thing Ikki saw was the empty Cloth of Libra. The second was the Draco Saint.

"Shiryu. I should have guessed you would defend your master's old temple. Very Bushido and all that, but there is no need. I am not here to challenge anyone."

"Yet I am challenging you." said Shiryu. 

Ikki was honestly surprised.

"Surely you don't think that I am a threat. I am merely accompanying people who wish to find their friends and family and to speak with Athena. If we are attacked, I'll fight, of course, to defend them. Protecting the innocent, is that not all that a Saint is about?"

"You are no Saint and they are not innocent. You defy Athena, support the Renegade, and the Goddess has rightly ordered your execution. We are brothers, and fought side by side. Out of respect for the bond that once existed between us, I have decided to be the one to slay you."

"Oh, please, spare my blushes!" said Ikki, growing impatient, "Don't be an ass, Shiryu. Mu, Aldebaran, Saga, Aiolia and even Shaka have allowed us to continue. That should tell you something. "

"I notice that Kanon and Deathmask are not on your list."

"I don't know about Kanon, and it is partly to find out what happened in his Temple that we are on our way up. Look, I have a father waiting outside whose sons have disappeared, courtesy of that half of the Gemini. Do you know anything about that?"

"If I did I would not tell you."

"God, you are such a pain! Grow up, will you? Let us pass to find out for ourselves."

"I will not. You killed Deathmask."

Ikki exploded.

"Of course I did! If anyone ought to have been executed long ago it would be him! Damn it, Shiryu, he was a monster! You should know that better than anyone, you fought him yourself. He has been redecorating his Temple with real corpses this time, not illusions. Ban and Geki's Master are among his victims. Incidentally, Geki asked Deathmask to expedite his Master in order to gain the Ursa Major Silver, so there is something rotten in Canada as well as Sanctuary. Don't come preaching to me when you can't or won't see what is happening under your very nose!"

Shiryu did not bat an eyelid.

" We are not talking of what they did, but of what you do. You have betrayed Athena's trust. No true Saint could ever forgive you for that. For Shun's sake, I shall kill you swiftly."

"Very gracious of you. Why don't you hold that thought and kill me later? I don't have time for it now. Say, next year or so?"

Shiryu visibly began to lose his cool as Ikki regained his.

"This is no joking matter! I am deadly serious!"

"Dead being the operative word…you were always too serious, Shiryu. Perhaps you are even under the delusion that you are doing me a favour."

"Others would kill you slowly, with all the suffering you richly deserve."

"If that is what you believe, why don't you? The company you keep does not seem to bother you either. Sanctuary is populated by egocentric, bloodthirsty maniacs. It's one of the reasons I quit. "

"One does not 'quit' Sainthood."

"You mean no one has succeeded so far. Hyoga is paving the way for us. Actually he is following Athena's earlier orders: that we should lead a normal life. Under pain of death of course. The logic in that was never quite clear to me. You ought to talk to Cygnus, though. He saw through the lies first, and had the guts to stand up for what is right. I for one am jolly grateful for it! Open your eyes, Shiryu. You are no longer blind, but you refuse to see. Sanctuary is an obsolete institution belonging to a past that is over and done with and should be!"

__

"That was pushing it too far, Ikki. A little more tact and a little less vehemence might have got you a better result."

"I wanted his reaction. I had to push him beyond the point where he could no longer contain his anger, to see if he would actually strike. He did."

"You have something of the martyr in you. Or do I mean masochist?"

"No, that was Shiryu's strong suit. Voluntary piercing his own eyes, allowing himself to be _cut off from the rest of us against Capricorn and then taking Excalibur full in he chest, in order to get a grip on him and launch into eternity… no, I am not the sacrificial type: that was purely for Shiryu's benefit. After all those protestations that we were brothers and bonded he needed to realise what his choice was all about."_

The Fury of the Dragon sent Ikki flying. The Phoenix Saint hit the ceiling and came down with a crash and a hail of marble debris.

"You…are making progress, Shiryu. Hitting a man without his Cloth who doesn't want to fight back, very noble indeed. " said he, wiping the blood from his mouth, " How do you like yourself now?"

"Be quiet!"

A second hit brought down what remained of the roof. 

"Bravo… I think…I may have lost the use of my right arm…but I was not…about to use it anyhow. With the illusion of the Phoenix I could tear apart your soul …if I wanted to."

Once more Shiryu attacked. This time, he struck Ikki with the strength of Excalibur, straight through the heart, staking his half-brother like a vampire. Slowly the Phoenix Saint slid along Draco's arm, slowly, till his chest touched Shiryu's shoulder. 

"Thus perish all traitors." murmured the young man, as he pulled the body away from him, 

and flicked the blood from his fingers. " A clean death. I am happy for you, Ikki, that I was the one to kill you, and so preserve what honour you had left."

He turned his back on the corpse.

"Very moving. It will look good on my gravestone."

"What?!!"

"Sometimes I despair of my opponents, I really do."

"Shiryu whirled round. There stood Ikki, alive and well and grinning.

"I thought that you would know all about my favourite attack. I _did_ remind you of the Phoenix Illusion."

"You said you would not use it! You _said_ you would not fight!" cried Shiryu.

"I'm not suicidal. Nevertheless, you believed me, and still you attacked. I allowed you to do so twice before I used the Illusion on you: I wanted to see how you would react to my death. I had hoped for a 'What have I done' or a few tears at least. It is not that you disappoint me, Shiryu. You frighten me. You are far, far gone and I tremble at what we, Hyoga, Shun and I would have become, had we not turned from the road you continued. As a matter of fact, I know: I was already way ahead on that very road to perdition, once. One last chance, Shiryu. Renounce. We, your brothers, are there to help you. We love you. No matter what you decide, we always will. I …"

"Be quiet" shrieked Shiryu, his face a mask of anger and agony mixed, " This time I _will_ kill you! I know your illusion now."

_"Erm…perhaps I did push him too far. The thing is, it was double or quits. After all, it had worked for Saga and Virgo, the confrontation with the inconsistencies of Sanctuary and their own attitude. Damn! This wasn't a Sanctuary-trained Goldie, this was our Shiryu! Right up to that moment I still believed in him. I was convinced he would not harm me."_

"You had more faith in Shiryu than he had in himself."

" If you, Shun, had been in my stead the end would have been different. You were always friends. I was the outsider. He was closer to you, and the distance between us was of my own making: I never bonded with you. I failed Shiryu."

"No you didn't. You did everything to save him. Saints don't hesitate to kill whom they love: witness Camu and Hyoga…"

"Or Isaak and me."

"Isaak and Hyoga. You were a different man at the time, Ilya, just as the Ikki who was the leader of the Dark Saints was a different man from Ikki, the Phoenix Saint who fought for Athena, and very different from the Ikki who faced Shiryu. My point is, Shiryu's mind was made up and his heart hardened before you met. Shun's chances of helping him would have been even less, for Shun cannot conceive of evil…"

"Hey! You people are always glorifying me! Don't you start as well, Sunrei."

"All right, which has the more merit: to turn one's back on one's evil, or not to commit evil at all because one is not tempted to do so? What I meant was: Ikki knows how hard it is to come back from the dark side, and how empty one is once there. How deep the pain runs. From that he tried to preserve Shiryu. If you have to choose between betraying the service of your Goddess, and betraying the love for your brother, and chose the latter, then you are already halfway to perdition. Ikki knows that well."

"And how well you know me, Sunrei."

"Ho ho! What's this with holding hands? Is there something brewing between you two?"

"Kill me once, kill me twice, kill me once again: the Phoenix always rises from his ashes. You will have a job doing it. Though maybe not since you are in Cloth and I am not…"

A long, low rumbling like a Dragon's growl rose from Shiryu's throat. With a cry he caused his Cosmos to explode and the components of his God Cloth flew from his body every which way.They gathered, hovered in the air for a moment, then reconstructed themselves in the form of a dragon, and descended to stand brotherly side by side to the Libra Cloth. 

"Great striptease. You could make yourself a fortune if you performed at that place you frequent in Tokyo…"

"Shut up! Shut up! Just _shut up!_" 

At every word he screamed the incensed Draco Saint hit the Phoenix harder and harder.

"Good…that is better…no talk of duty and Sainthood, but plain honest anger." breathed Ikki between blows, " There was a time when all you wanted was to work in the rice paddies of China…what happened…to that Shiryu?"

" He died! He died a long time ago! He died with Seiya! My duty to Athena is all I have left!"

__

"And there we come to the heart of the matter. The Shiryu we knew indeed died with the Pegasus Saint. I doubt if he himself realised before then the true nature of his deep love for Seiya. That was probably for the best. Imagine,: his own half-brother, and definitely hetero at that…No, there was never a chance for the old Shiryu to revive."

"I loved Seiya as well. His death never turned me into a murderous …"

"Miho, Seiya loved you in return. For you two there could have been a happy ever after. Had Seiya lived, Shiryu would be left standing in he cold. The world over, gays struggle with their sexuality. Even in the best of circumstances, they will have to surmount difficulties that hetero's never have. Minorities are habitually given a hard time. It may be called Greek love, but homosexuality was not as accepted in antiquity as people often suppose. Of course, Japanese culture may have less of a problem with homosexuality because it does not have the repressive sexual taboo's the West had. ****. Shiryu coped with his pain by repressing all feeling, physical and emotional, to concentrate fully on his Sainthood, quite like Shaka did. Perhaps, Ikki, he was doing the same to you as you had done to him: pushing you to kill him. A way out. When all that lies ahead is coloured black, and the going back seems impossible, there is that one option left. I know, I know only too well…"

"Vimi, are you saying that…"

"Shiryu wanted to die, yes. To stop the pain. To be with Seiya."

"Then…there is nothing left for _me_ but to attack."

"That will not avail you. The Flight of the Phoenix is known to me as well as the Illusion! _Excalibur!!!_ "

Ikki jumped back in time and took up a stance the Draco Saint had never seen before.

"Another Dimension!"

The whole Temple began to vibrate.

"What…how…where…"

"Did I learn that? Bitter experience. Hyoga too mastered the Aurora Execution after having been subjected to it, and he has been using it ever since. Why should I not copy Saga? Where I am sending you will have the chance to clear your head. You need it."

The portal to the Other Dimension opened wide. In vain Shiryu struggled against the gravitational pull. He was not alone being sucked in: his Cloth and the Libra one, and then the entire Temple disappeared. In a matter of seconds, there was nothing left but barren rock, and a most astonished mr. Field.

"Hmmm, I may have overdone it a bit. But, oh, that was not pleasant, not pleasant at all." muttered Ikki.

He fell on his knees and cried until he had no more tears left.

__

To be continued. 

__

* Authentic. Both Nazi-Germany and Japan set up brothels for the troops, consisting of 'Comfort Women' from the conquered territories and their own kind as well (professional prostitutes, but also girls nobody cared about; lower social classes and orphans and such) Towards the end the Japanese women were expected to commit 'gyokusai' ('broken jewel') or mass suicide to avoid the 'embarrassment' of discovery by the enemy. After the capitulation the occupying forces committed mass rape (the Australians were particularly vicious). To solve the problem the Japanese government held a special council (21 august 1945, dubbed the 'comfort-women council') and found the solution: on the 28th of august 1945, 13 days after the capitulation, the 'Society for Recreation and Amusement' (headquarters: the square in front of the Imperial Palace) was founded. After they had run out of regular prostitutes for their 'clubs', the following advertisements were placed in local newspapers (e.g. Ginza): 'We ask your co-operation for the important work to comfort the troops. Age 18 to 25.'

The Society was officially abolished march 27, 1946, to avoid the spread of venereal disease (it's main reason for having been founded in the first place) and because it did not stroke with the newly adopted democratic values and human rights (rather and afterthought, that).

There is plenty of literature on the subject. So is denial.

** Authentic (see above) Where there are soldiers, there is rape and there are brothels. It's human nature, and one has to make allowances for it, but it doesn't make it right. It may change yet, but 'Bad old habits are too deeply rooted to permit rapid change' as mr. Field is fond of quoting Deng Xiao Ping, and add: "But that is no excuse for not trying to change a bad thing."

*** Displaced Persons. Millions of them.

****There were even in a distant past, homosexual Buddhist sects. Something for the aficionado's of slash?

Author's notes:

Surely no one actually believed that Ikki would kill Shiryu, I hope?

During a long Christmas vacation I have penned down 82 pages (very small writing too!) or the equivalent of 11 of the planned 13 chapters till the end of Part III. I still have 32 more pages (4 chapters) to type AND I DO NOT OWE A COMPUTER. My only (borrowed laptop) access (short of the office spare PC during lunch break and after-hours, my colleagues think I am writing my autobiography in three fat volumes!) has been cut off for a week, so the next instalment will not be as rapid I have been in the past week. 

Patience is a cardinal virtue.


	34. Ascension : Scorpio

Scorpio.

Mu had stopped climbing to take a breather. As a Gold Saint and Tibetan, he should not have needed to. The mountain on which Sanctuary as build barely merited the name, and yet it defied even him. There was a will at work that prevented one from vanquishing its steep and craggy slopes. It was the same will that blocked teleportation. When the zodiacal clock was lit, the mountain became hostile to anyone, and it took a strong will to oppose it. Mu harboured no illusions about himself: he was no Ikki, Marin or Shaina, three Saints who had encountered that will and won. Yet his need was as pressing as theirs had been, and he wondered at that. What was it that motivated him? 

Compassion? Compassion had led him to heal Aioros, nearly fifteen years ago. He still remembered the horror and fear he had felt as, from far below, he had seen the battling Auras around the Hall of the Pope, and the body of the Sagittarius Saint, bereft of his Cloth, that was catapulted through thick marble wall and fell, fell, fell, like a broken doll, to land on the sharp and hungrily waiting rocks. Mu was eight years old and had been pressed into the Cloth of Aries by a Master who had become increasingly worried about Hades' imminent resurrection. The Aries Saint had never told anyone, not even Dokho for whom he had the utmost respect, but at the time he was actually attempting to flee Sanctuary.

This was made impossible by the guards posted at all the roads leading out, but he had found a passage down in the crevice below the Hall. And of all nights, he had chosen the very one during which Saga tried to assassinate Athena! The healing of Aioros had nearly broken him. Pouring forth all of his power had mended shattered bones, yet even so there was only so much he could do. There had been little left in Aioros but a small sparkle of life which he, Mu, had kindled into a flame, weak as it was, enough to allow his escape. 

"You can barely walk." he had said to the dying Sagittarius Saint, " Lean on me. I can help."

Aioros had declined his offer.

"No.little Mu.you have.done more than enough .do not risk your life even further. You must.warn the others.of the duplicity."

"They will kill me before the first word is out! What is duplicity?"

Aioros had smiled despite his pain. Mu was a child still. It pained him that the boy would be forced to become an adult and make adult decisions. 

"Treachery.Sion."

At the mention of his Master's name, Mu had cried out and run, not waiting to hear the full story. He had seen enough to draw his own conclusions, and when, in the morning, the word was spread that Aioros was a traitor who had made an attempt on Athena's life, he had known that he was in serious danger. When a Temple guard came looking for him, he had been certain his life was forfeit, but the man simply came to tell him that his Master wished him to go to Jamir. He had obeyed, for he still believed then that the Pope was Sion. He knew now that Saga had feared that the apprentice would recognise the impostor. 

What followed had been thirteen long years of exile and solitude. Kiki's presence for the final five or six of them (he had stopped counting eventually) had not helped much. Occasionally a Saint would come to his to his tower to have his Cloth repaired.

He had almost forgotten the Aioros affair, had not a young bronze Saint come to Jamir, bearing not one but two dead Cloths. 

And so he had once more been drawn back into the Game. 

Yes, game. More and more he became convinced now that they were pawns, puppets, to amuse the Gods. The two hundred year cycle, the ritual of Master training pupils that eventually replaced them (more often than not by killing them) the symbolism of the Cloths, the way they fought, always after the same fashion: there was a definite pattern to it that was hard to explain otherwise. He had not dared to express to anyone those fearful suspicions that had arisen in the quiet month after Hades. Life in exile, always on the brink of discovery, had taught him not to share any secrets.

For Mu had secrets that would cost him his life if it were ever found out _that_ he knew, and _what_ he knew: big ones, little ones, old ones, new ones, and the best ones where those that gave him power over others.

Shaka's secret was by far the best: he was a she. When Sion had brought him to Sanctuary he had presented him to the albino Indian, with the words: " Shaka has been here for over a year and already is a Gold Saint. Raised in a Buddhist monastery not far from the Himalayas he knows your language a little, and he can help you adjust. " 

Like most adults, Sion took for granted that children will immediately like each other and play nice. The Tibetan had taken one look at Shaka and asked: " Why do you pretend to be a boy?" Little four year old Mu had found himself flat on his back with a couple of teeth loose - milk ones fortunately- and a promise from seven year old Shaka of more if he ever told on her.

" If you don't want people to know you're a girl you should wash off your Brahmin mark."

Shaka never had, for stubborn reasons best known to herself, and had counted on the customary ignorance of Sanctuary inhabitants which given the lack of education was generally reliable. 

Though he admired Shaka for her sheer audacity, Mu would not forget the beating he had received. They were never friends, and Shaka would give Mu a hard time just to show she could because she was older and stronger and a Saint, and he needed a reminder, now and again, didn't he, to keep his mouth shut? 

If possible he liked the adult Shaka even les. After they had delivered the captured young Englishman to the Tokyo embassy, and Shaka had cleaned Mu's cloth (which the Tibetan had insisted on watching, 'to see it is properly done') the Virgo Saint had uttered another menace: "You have been sitting on the fence for far too long Mu. Sooner or later you will have to decide whose side you are on. For your health it would be better if it were _my_ side."

"You don't say. By the by, you've missed a spot."

"You are not invulnerable, Mu."

"Neither are you."

Placing his finger delicately on the mark on Shaka's forehead, Mu had whispered: " I _still_ think you had better remove that." giving the Virgo Saint a subtle reminder of her own precarious situation. Sooner or later, her secret would come out, either helped along or by itself, as secrets have a habit of doing. 

As the secrets of the Gemini brethren had. Inquisitive and observant Mu had quickly discovered that Saga sometimes seemed to be in two places at once. It had not taken long for the clever little Tibetan to figure out that there were in fact two, and he felt sure that some of Saga's combats to accede to the Gemini post had actually been fought by Kanon. 

__

"Was Sion ignorant of the duplicity or did he turn a blind eye?"

Secrets. They all had them, except Deathmask who never cared a jot if everyone knew he was a murderer, and Aiolia, who was too honest (_"Or too stupid."_ thought Mu uncharitably). Aldebaran, of equal nature, had only one, and recent at that: his love for the Rodorian girl Melina. Shun had a similar secret, as had Shiryu, who only ever left Sanctuary nowadays to mourn, furtively, by Seiya's mausoleum in Japan. Mu had followed him on one such occasion, seen, understood, and mourned, too, for both of them. He wanted love-stories to have a happy ending. There had been so many bad ones, as for example with Aphrodite's mother and father. Shortly before Athena's reappearance Pisces had dug up his parent's remains from underneath the dung-heap where they had been cast after their execution (no resting place in the Saint's graveyard for those two traitors!) and had given them a proper burial behind his Temple, where he now grew his roses. Mu had caught him in the act. Instead of denouncing him (as Aphrodite, resigned yet determined to see his filial duty through to the bitter end, had expected) he had gone on his knees to help him dig. 

"Why are you doing this?"

""It is important to you." 

"We are not friends. We have nothing in common."

"You like growing beautiful flowers. I like making beautiful things."

That was true, and so they had formed a guarded sort of friendship, and neither would openly admit that they actually _did_ like each other, both lonely, sensitive, cast out boys who were forced to harden their gentle natures. If Mu had succeeded in keeping his humanity, Aphrodite had not. But the Pisces Saint had not forgotten their boyhood friendship either. 

Mu hoped he could win him over with that memory.

Aquarius was another matter entirely. In Camu's eyes, his secret was a shameful one and he hated the Aries Saint for finding out. Even as children, the French boy had kept his distances and rejected all Mu's well-meant overtures of friendship. Late, during his exile, Mu had often visited Camu in Siberia, Aquarius being the only Gold Saint licensed to leave Sanctuary at will (difficult to train potential Ice-Saints in a Mediterranean climate). Partly to have news of affairs in Greece, partly to have someone to talk to.

By that time they had both entered puberty, and their bodies made demands on them they did not previously have. The first time it happened to Mu (who had no-one to turn to for counsel since 'Sion' had cut off all communication) he had been as panicky as any boy at the first stirrings of his neither regions. As it turned out not to be life threatening, he had decided it was a natural occurrence and either coped or ignored it. Mostly the latter, since he was far to preoccupied with plain survival in the grinding isolation of Jamir to spend much time worrying over his budding masculinity. In Sanctuary it was different, due to good living and a surplus of testosterone with the pills the Saints took (another one of Saga's little secrets, distributing hormone supplements to his Saints, though Sion, desperate to have his army in fighting shape for Hades, had started it). Scorpio and Capricorn, following the example of the Silvers and Bronzes, had quickly found the way to the Rodorian women, and Cancer, like Saga, took home-delivery. Pisces kept himself to himself, though he had been known to accompany Shura and Deathmask on occasion. The others, being too shy, too noble or a special case like Virgo had either abstained or helped themselves and each other. Aquarius too took to the latter solution. Somehow that was more of a problem to him than to the others, probably because he so prided himself on being able to block all emotion: his body betrayed him, and it bothered him that it bothered him. Mu, on his last visit, had caught him taking a cold bath in the Bering Sea *, and his cheeky sense of humour had taken the better of him.

"If you aren't careful you will melt the polar cap. Must be that hot French blood."

Camu had gritted his teeth, struggled to hold his temper and finally snarled: " You have a dirty little mind." 

Raising an eyebrow, Mu had answered: " You are the one with the problem if you call it dirty. Maybe you should come off that iceberg of yours and admit you are human like the rest of us. Let your hair down a bit. Have some fun! The women of Kohutec will be willing, if you ask them nicely."

"They are not like those whores in Tibet who have more than one husband. I suppose you quite enjoy yourself. Or do you do it with a yak?"

Mu had shrugged, slightly regretting ever having told Camu of Tibetan life and customs** which the Frenchman had apparently misinterpreted - as for the yak, he had obviously never seen one, or he would know that what he accused Mu of was physically near to impossible. 

"Make sure you don't stain your Cloth. It leaves a mark, you known."

Camu had thrown a snowball at him.

Mu's own, non-existent sex-life was of course nobody's affair. Tibetan girls were not as easy as Camu supposed, most of them wouldn't touch a half-breed with a barge-pole, and besides, they nearest village was three mountains and two valleys away, and he did not like teleporting unless it was absolutely necessary. And if truth be told, he thought masturbation rather pathetic. Mu was a romantic at heart, and kept himself for true love. 

Nor could he understand or condone the indifference of his fellows towards the fruits of their rampant randyness, particularly Scorpio's, who was a good man underneath and not uncaring. In Tibet all children were cherished, even half-breeds (it was only as an adult that he encountered problems in that domain), and the Aries Saint made no secret of his scorn for Milo's attitude towards his offspring, the eldest of whom were already in training for Sainthood. His own greatest fear was to lose Kiki, and his greatest regret that the child he loved so much would soon become a Saint. 

That was the real reason for Mu's coming off the fence. His Cloth repairing ability would not protect him for long, and he had made the mistake of teaching Kiki. It had never been his intention to do so, but the child had pestered him about it for so long, and then tried it out in secret, almost blowing up half the mountain with the Orichalcum, that the Aries saint had had 

no other choice but to train him.

__

"And Kiki is still such a child and can be manipulated into anything."

Yet if the Game could be ended once and for all, Kiki would be spared that lot. And so Mu had chosen. There was little hope, he knew, and it was only a matter of time before Athena or Shaka would send someone against him. His chances of survival were slim. His endurance was greater than the other's, grown through years of deprivation and solitude and surviving in impossible circumstances, yet he doubted the strength of his Starlight Revolution. Capricorn he might manage, for despite his boasts Shura was one of the weaker Gold Saints, especially now that he had lost Excalibur. Few knew it, but Excalibur was actually a real sword, part of Sanctuary's treasure and guarded by the Pope. Only once had it left Greece, when some 1400 years and six incarnations ago Athena gave it to a young King in a far away country. A whim, perhaps. Capricorn of course had absolutely no right to the weapon. Saga had given it to him to bind him to his rule. That was Shura's secret. The sword had transformed to lightning energy and became part of him, giving his arms and legs an extra sharp cutting edge. Now that the sword had been passed on to Shiryu, he no longer had that power. 

Mu sighed. He was treading a very thin line. It was time to use the knowledge gathered over the years. Perhaps he would be able to open Athena's eyes to the fact that Sanctuary was little better than it had been in Saga's time, for the Saints (including he, Mu) were far from the noble, self-sacrificing beings she took them to be. Not even his Master Sion was without faults. 

Involuntarily, Mu touched the two oblong dots on his forehead that were tattooed into his skin. Had they been burned in they could not have hurt him more deeply. 

The greatest secret of all.

The one he shared with Sion, and Kiki, and bound him to them for all eternity.

The truth he could never escape.

Everyone, including Athena, presumed that the dots were inherent to the Sign of Aries, or that it was a Tibetan religious symbol, just as they believed Shaka's mark to be a Buddhist one. It did not occur to them that Sion was Sanctuary born and bred and revered Athena and the Big Will (in its Greek Orthodox version of God) and would therefore not have bothered with Buddhism, a philosophy rather than a religion anyway, and too opposed to violence to interest Sanctuary. Sometimes, Mu wished it would. Then his secret would come out in the open, and relieve him of the burden of silence. It weighed too heavily on him, and there was Kiki to consider as well.

Burying his face in his hands he pressed his palms against the tattoos. How he hated them! They marked him for life and tied him to a fate that was worse than being a half-breed in a world that has little kindness for those of mixed race, worse than Sainthood, worse than death. 

__

"And Kiki, oh, Kiki." 

"What is this, the mighty Aries caught off guard and weeping?"

There was no mistaking the voice, or the thinly veiled contempt.

Milo.

The Scorpio Saint always tried to copy Mu's irony, which in him came out as a sneer.

"Doing some mountain-climbing? Homesick for the Himalayas or in need of exercise?"

"Perhaps a wish to be alone."

"Do you want me to go away? Sorry, no can do The Clock is up and running, intruders have entered Libra, you have made no attempt at stopping them and what's more, you are breaking Sanctuary rules by not taking the Stairway. Four excellent reasons for challenging you, I'd say."

"May I point out that that you are out of order in that last respect as well?"

"For good reason. You are near my Temple and this part of the Mountain falls therefore under my jurisdiction."

Mu rose to his feet. "You are being a pompous idiot, Milo. There is no kind of jurisdiction whatsoever in Sanctuary. We Saints sit in our Temples and challenge all comers when the Clock is set. In case you don't know the difference: we are standing on precipice marginally less remote from your Temple than the others, and if you feel like fighting I hope for your sake you realise that I am more at home in places such as, that my defence can easily withstand your attack, and so that you are more likely to lose your footing and plunge to your death than I am to succumb."

"Stop pretending to be cleverer than everyone else, Mu." snarled the Scorpio Saint, "You are nothing but a slit-eyed coward who hides behind a crystal wall."

"At least I know that there is no such word as 'cleverer'." quipped Mu, and then said, with a sigh: " Milo, I'm tired. Hurling insults won't provoke me either. Do I have to spell it out? I

I-am-not-interested. Go pick a fight somewhere else.

With that he turned his back on Scorpio and resumed his climb. Beside himself with anger, Milo grabbed the waving ponytail of Mu's mousy brown hair and swung there with the full weight of his 84 kilos (add 10 for the Cloth).

Though in considerable pain, Mu barely winced.

"Ouch. That hurts, Milo. Hair pulling is hardly worthy of a Saint. Coming from you, however, I am not surprised."

Firmly kicked backwards, Mu's heel made contact with Milo's head, just above the right

eye-socket. The Scorpio Saint yelped and let go. He fell barely an inch from the edge of the precipice. It started to crumble.

"Milo!"

As the rock underneath the Scorpio Saint gave way, Mu dived for him caught his foot and went over into the abyss with him. 

And landed on the floor of the Scorpio Temple, still holding on.

"Teleportation in free fall, I'm getting better and better at this." said Mu.

Scorpio shook himself free of his fellow-Saints grasp and was on his feet in a flash.

"I could have done that myself!"

"No you couldn't. Not through the block. Why don't you just say thank you, nicely."

The Scorpio Saint lashed out, his right forefinger's sharpened nail glittering lethally.

It came back red.

A trickle of blood ran down Mu's right arm.

"I would have settled for 'un-nicely' also." said the Tibetan, "I _really_ don't have time for this. Your loathing of me has been noted, fine. Tell me, are you quite clear in your mind about how you will justify killing me? For Athena? Hardly. Because I have broken Sanctuary rules? I think not! For yourself, to vent your anger and petty resentment? Yes, rather. 

Once more Milo lashed out. He hit what felt like a concrete wall.

"I _told_ you my defence is stronger than your attack. "

"Coward! Traitor!"

"We have been through that already. I'll concede on the coward, though personally I consider it merely smart to stay behind a protective shield from where one can negotiate with the opposition. As for the traitor part: the one oath I swore which I consider binding is to protect Humanity. _And that is exactly what I am doing!_ For centuries Sanctuary has fought its wars with the other Gods in the same way over and over and _over_ again, and it has not brought us an _inch_ closer to permanent peace. So perhaps we should at least _consider _leaving the much-trodden paths and try another approach for a change. That is what I am off to propose Athena."

"I will stop you!"

A third time Milo raised his hand, or rather his finger- against Mu. This time, he broke his nail on the Crystal Wall.

"That must be painful." said Mu. He lowered his defence and reached out for Milo, " I can heal that."

"Don't touch me you dirty slit-eyed miscreant!" shouted Milo. 

The Aries Saint looked genuinely hurt.

"If I have insulted or hurt you then you have every right to be angry with me. But if you object to me because of what I am, be that a slit-eyed miscreant, there is something very wrong with your interpretation of being a protector of Humanity. How can you pretend to be that when you detest."

"Shut up! Shut up or I'll make you!"

Mu called on his Cosmos. The warm glow of his Aura surrounded him in rainbow colours.

Never had the young Tibetan loved life more than in that moment. He desperately wanted to make Milo understand, and saw only one way of doing so.but he was afraid, so very, very afraid that he would fail.

He abandoned his cloth.

The Scorpio Saint was visibly taken aback at seeing Mu, naked but for a pair of faded blue cotton trousers, standing before him head bend and eyes downcast, the rainbow swirling around him. Brown hair, freed from its leather thong, fell straight over his shoulders and back, one jaunty curl on his forehead hiding -almost but not quite- the tattoos that accentuated his difference. The mark where Milo's nail had pricked him showed up angry and red on his dark golden skin. 

To the Scorpio Saint he looked wonderfully vulnerable. 

"I do not want to fight you." whispered Mu.

Milo clapped.

"Bravo! _Bravissimo! _As Deathmask would say. Splendid performance." he laughed roughly, "Did you actually think you could move me with mock-surrender? 'I do not want to fight you!' Meek and mild Mu! Sign of the Ram? More likely of the Lamb." he bleated: " Baaaaah!!! Sheep that you are. Go back to China. You don't _belong_ in Sanctuary."

"Tibet. " said Mu quietly, "My home is Tibet. Bod kyi yul, in our tongue: Snowland. Not China. " and, more vehemently, he added: " _Never_ China!" 

"Same thing. What is it, Mu, have you suddenly become a follower of the Dalai Lama, that smiling baldy?"

A memory.

His mother, reminding him to pray: _"Om Mani Padme Hum. Pray for him, the Chenresik, Ocean of Wisdom, Tenzin Gyatso. Pray that His Holiness the Dalai Lama may never fall in the hands of the Cheenee. Pray that when he dies his soul will find a way to a new house and may that one be found to lead us.*** Pray, my son."_

"Om Mani Padme Hum." murmured Mu. "I am delighted that you have heard of Him. Is it not better to smile with fortitude at the blows fate deals one, than deal such blows oneself?"

"Oh, deep, very deep. We are a _philosopher_ now. But I can see through your game, Mu. You are a liar and a sneak. Thought yourself a cut above the rest of us, didn't you? Raised by the Pope himself in that hidden place of yours, whatsit, Jamir, and taught how to repair Cloths. You are _soooo_ special! Any of us can beat the crap out of you, you Chinese runt. Always snooping about you were, finding out about people and go running to your Master with it. You _grassed_ on us, you _did!_"

Mu went red with shame. It was true. His Master _had _used him to spy on his fellows. Far from being the kind and gentle man he was to the rest of Sanctuary, Sion had been harsh and demanding on his apprentice. Every day Mu had been forced to his knees to renew his obedience. Sion often made the humiliation complete by putting his foot on the little boy's neck to illustrate that he could as easily break as make him. "Remember this when you wear the yoke. " he had said, " Your duty lies to Sanctuary. Forget about your country, your people, your family. Forget who you are. _Forget your true name!_ You are Athena's, and _only_ Athena's. You will bow before her as you bow before me and you _will obey_.

__

"Om Mani Padme Hum, forgive me, Holiness, forgive me, mother, I had forgotten."

As usual, the Pope had justified his use of Mu with the danger of the coming of Hades. "It may not seem honourable to you what you do, and indeed it is not; but it is sometimes necessary to go to base degrees in order to achieve one's goal. I _must_ be able to rely on all my Saints when the time comes. Saga, you tell me, has locked his evil twin in Athena's prison under Cape Sounion. He will surely drown. Yet has Saga done this to relieve Sanctuary of a potential enemy, or himself of a rival? That is something that needs reflection, if I am to chose a successor wisely." 

"I would not trust someone who can condemn his own brother to such a horrible death." little Mu had reflected to himself, and then it had come to him that when Sion stepped down as Pope he would surely return to Jamir to raise children he took from their parents as he had taken him, and he, Mu, would remain in Sanctuary, where they despised him, because he was Asian and a half-breed at that. He might count on the protection of Aioros and the friendship of Aldebaran and Aiolia, but others, he was sure, would give him a hard time, if only to deflect the question of their own non-Greek, non-European provenance. 

That was why had had tried to run.

__

"And then I became Sion. I acted no different than he did when I took Kiki. I should never, never have done that, never.but I was so alone, so very alone."

"_Tibetan_ runt, if you insist."

"See? You dare not deny it."

"How can I? For what it is worth, I am sorry."

"You're sorry! _You _are sorry! You're _sorry! _ Thank you _very_ much, Mu, that makes it all better, does it? Ever thought of the consequences? Of the guys you got into trouble? The ones who were relegated to second-best because of _one simple mistake?"_

"Like you?"

The child Milo had been a troublemaker. Highly intelligent, bored, impossible to control, hard to break into obedience he had ventured to all the forbidden places of Sanctuary. He had gone to Rodorio (forbidden to all but full Saints), he had peeped behind the curtain of the Pope's Hall were the Golden Cloths were kept, he had even climbed Star Hill. About all of these exploits he had bragged, quite openly, to his fellows, and dutifully Mu had reported to Sion. The bond between Master and Pupil is a sacred one, and under normal circumstances not even the Pope would interfere, yet in this instance, he had. Milo was told that he was not proper Gold material, and he was handed over to a Silver for training, with the promise that if he did not change his attitude he might end up and ordinary Bronze.

In secret he had continued train for Gold, and when he finally mastered the Antares, he had denounced his old Master. The former Scorpio had been perfecting his poisoning techniques by practising on the older inhabitants of Rodorio. "I am not a murderer! I'm doing them a kindness, it is called euthanasia!" had been his defence. The Pope Sion had to keep up the appearance of being a just and charitable lord and therefore could not condone what Scorpio did. The man had been stripped of his Cloth and executed with the Athena Exclamation (the technique forbidden for any other use, and the only method of doing away with a Gold Saint where single combat was too time-consuming an option). And Milo had been back in the running, for Deathmask, old Scorpio's only other apprentice, had become Cancer by then.

That had been Milo's secret. 

" You think you are somehow _better_." hissed Scorpio, "Sion's Chosen One. The one who saw through Saga's deception. Athena's staunchest supporter. Dokho's friend. You helped the Bronzes when the rest of us were still in he dark. So you thought you had it made, you thought you'd be second to Dokho and we'd all go _yes, Mu, whatever you say. _Holier than thou Mu, right all along, never made a mistake, never had a stain on his character."

__

"He is jealous.of me!"

For his part, while not liking the Scorpio Saint for various reasons, Mu had never seen Milo as a rival, for he had never aspired to anything greater than what he was. Milo, on the other hand, though not as ambitious as Saga and Shaka, wanted to see his intelligence recognised. 

It stung that Mu had been more perspicacious than he.

__

"What kind of man would Milo have become if he had been able to put his brain to good use? If his intellect had been challenged?"

Like everyone else Milo had his faults. He was rashly impulsive and tactlessly straightforward and often let those cloud his judgement. Though he admired courage (perhaps too much), he had little compassion and even less time for those whom he considered not as smart as he. As a result, on an intellectual level he treated people like Aiolia and Aldebaran as if they were the village idiots, for like a lot of clever people he equated being nice with being stupid (something they in turn put up with, with tremendous patience), yet they would be the very two he would chose to be side by side with in battle. The essence of Sanctuary life however was such that there was absolutely no check on Milo's ruthlessness either. Nevertheless he was honest at the core. 

__

"Did he not spare both Hyoga and Kanon? It was not pity that stayed his hand, but respect, and a gnawing doubt; if they were willing to lay down their life for what they believed was right, and in Kanon's case atone for his crimes, then perhaps they were right after all."

Apparently the Scorpio Saint was reminded of that as well by the similarity of the situation..

"Are you trying to pull a Kanon on me?" he sneered, " Don't bother. I'm not fooled. You are not the sacrificial type, Mu. You wouldn't put your neck on the block for your ideal or to drive a point home. You reckon good old Milo will go: _Gasp! Gasp! He is willing to die for what he believes in! He must be right! _How stupid do you think I am?"

"Why did you not slay Hyoga and Kanon?"

"Because I can tell true from false. _You_ are false! You have also forgotten something. I may have lost the use of the index of my right hand, but I still have my left!"

Faster than lightning, swifter than the eye can see, the Scorpio Saint hit Mu fourteen times.

The pain was excruciating.

"Have you been able to let it all out?" asked the Aries Saint through clenched teeth, " Feel better now? Happy?"

"I will be when you are dead. ANTARES!"

The Scorpio Saint's final, most deadly attack was halted a hair's breadth away from Mu's chest.

Not because Milo had suddenly had a change of heart.

No because Mu had put up the Crystal Wall.

A strong backward pull drew the scorpion from his prey. 

"You need to sort yourself out, Scorpy." said Ikki, " I know just the place for that. Say hello to Draco from me."

And Milo the Scorpion was drawn into the Bermuda Triangle.

Ikki clapped his hands as if to dust them off.

"Hello, Mu. You look terrible. What's with the semi-nudity? Taking a leaf out of Shiryu's book, are you?"

The Aries Saint smiled weakly." Kanon's, rather. A mistake. I did not realise how great Milo's resentment towards me had grown. I've had better days. You were just in time, Ikki: my thanks."

"You could have dealt with him on your own."

"We are equally matched. Besides, I did not want to. I had hoped to convince him." he faltered, and would have toppled over had Ikki not caught him in time.

"You are losing a lot of blood. I can stop the haemorrhage, but there is the poison he injected.can you heal yourself?"

"There is no poison." said Mu almost happily," Milo is not like his Master was. He does not stoop to such methods. All these years I believed he did and despised him silently for it. That was wrong, and he was right: I _do _think myself the better man. Did. I must tell him I am sorry."

"Later." said the Phoenix Saint firmly. " From what I heard he absolutely detests you, so apologising while he is in a bad mood is not a good idea. I don't get it: you two fought jointly with Aiolia against Saga, Shura and Camu, and then you all banded together to blast a hole in the Wall of Lamentation. Where has all that wonderful unity gone to?"

"There never was much." whispered Mu, very pale and suffering still, " There has to be a basis for that: friendship, at the very least. How can one be truly friends with a rival one more often than not has to kill for Gold, Silver or Bronze? What is it that made the five of you so different, Ikki?" 

"A combination of factors, I suppose. I the end we were not so different: Seiya went the Saint's way despite his earlier protestations, and so has Shiryu. Ilya, Shun, you, I..we stopped to think. Let's hope for his sake that Milo does so too."

"Or he will be back with a vengeance."

"Assuredly, but in the meantime we can work some changes. Mr. Field! " Ikki called, " Oi! You can come in now, it is quite safe!"

The Englishman had the same reaction to Mu as Phoenix.

"You look terrible. I thought your Cloth was supposed to protect you." said he, the concerned look in his eyes belying his apparent flippancy.

"I will not wear it anymore. I realise now what Hyo.Ilya meant, and I should not have told him to take the Cloth again." 

The Aries Saint suppressed a shudder. "They will be our undoing."

"Why so terrified all of a sudden?" wondered Ikki.

"With good reason. I _know _them. They are living beings: the sum of the souls of their wearers. Their metal is impregnated with blood and fear and pain in the moment of death. They have no conscience."

"I see. That explains a lot."

"Sion made us wear the Gold Cloths all the time, when we were little, adapted to our size; in so doing we were steeped in the essence of Sainthood. It would make us stronger, or so he believed." 

Once more Mu shuddered.

"No wonder everyone's so screwed up." remarked Ikki.

"I helped." whispered Aries, "I repaired Cloths, I called them back to life. I could have broken the cycle, had I not gone to Jamir to take up residence in Sion's tower. With Sion and me the secrets of Cloth repair would have died, and eventually they would disappear for good."

Suddenly vehement he added: " And good it would have been! It would have ended the Godgame!"

Filled with a, for him, rare anger, Mu strode towards his own Cloth, reassembled in the effigy of a Ram, and hit it.

Once. Twice.

And then repeated volleys, harder and harder, with both fists, until they were raw and bleeding. 

Mr. Field and Ikki exchanged a look. Then the Englishman looked at his watch. 

"We are thirteen minutes into the Scorpio hour. The time we gained in Libra will be lost if this goes on much longer. On the other hand, he needs this. I heard a lot of self-loathing in his voice. That young man is suffering from a very burdened conscience."

"I know the feeling. But if he can't work it out himself there is little we can do to help him."

Mu fell on his knees. Wrapping his arms around the Ram's neck he began to sob uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I did not mean to hurt you .I did! I do! I hate you and I love you._I_ _am sorry! I said I was sorry!_ _Please don't hurt me.please stop hurting me!"_

"Who is he talking to.the Cloth! The Cloth is doing this to him!" shouted mr. Field.

"Gyu!****" Ikki cursed in his own tongue, "The souls of all the previous Ariesses.and Sion! I can feel Sion's Aura emanating from the Ram._Mu's Master is punishing him for his defiance!"_

Ikki raced to Mu's side and with an well-aimed kick sent the Aries Cloth flying. 

Mu shrieked.

"My Cloth! My beautiful Cloth! Mine! _Don't you dare touch it!"_

He lunged at Ikki. 

__

"Mu! Yappa mindo!" *****

The Aries Saint stood like petrified at the sound.

With all his being he struggled against the overwhelming power of the Cloth and his Master's command. 

__

"Om Mani Padme Hum, Om Mani Padme Hum, OM MANI PADME HUM!"

He cried out the Mantra, and heard the words echoed, in the calm voice of mr. Field.

"Om Mani Padme Hum. That's it, son. That's the way to fight it. Om Mani Padme Hum!"

"Om Mani Padme Hum!" Ikki joined his prayer to the Englishman's, who was now talking quietly to Mu in Tibetan.

"It is a very beautiful thing to look at indeed. You have great talent; a veritable gift. It is a pity that the products of your craft serve to destroy. Om Mani Padme Hum. Hold on to the Bodhisattva of Compassion's own Mantra. Let it steer your life from now on. You are not so far-gone that you can not let go. Which is what you will have to do, if you are serious about breaking with Sanctuary."

"I.I.they are calling to me."

"Perhaps you should talk with them. Ask them what they truly want. Maybe the souls that are trapped in this armour.Cloth.whatever, need you to help them move on. You are the only one that can. They have been around for so long.I imagine they must be very tired." 

"Oh!" said Mu in a small, rather surprised voice", "I never thought of that."

Mr. Field smiled. He liked the young Tibetan; young, and yet so old, so earnest, so innocent and knowing, and so lonely. Something about him reminded the Englishman of his late wife Dolma. Child of a Ralpa ****** girl and god-knows-who, Dolma had suffered because she was a half-breed and different, as all people who are different will suffer even when they are surrounded by love. Dolma had been loved, by her mother, her later stepfather, and her two younger brothers Dorje and Tsarong, yet it had not been until she had met the young Hubert Field that she had felt 'like coming home', as she put it. Himself a product of practically opposed cultures, English, German and Malayan, Hubert had understood as nobody else could in the Hidden Kingdom, where half-breeds were as rare as flowers in winter.

Forty years after her disappearance and with a happy second marriage, mr. Field still mourned his Tibetan love, and their two children, blaming himself most of all. _" I failed them. For their memory's sake I must see this young man right, as I did Ilya. I will make sure that he will get all the chances in life Aventine and Caelia would have had, if it is the last thing I'll do."_

"Your decision, son. The important thing to remember is that you have a choice. That, too, is why we came, my wife and sons and I. To offer you young people all a choice. There _is_ a life for you waiting outside Sanctuary which we, and friends of ours, can and _will_ provide."

The sincerity in the man's voice told Mu that his promise was true. His tear-washed green eyes now filled with wonder.

__

"Such people do exist. Fathers do care for their children! Even the abandoned have a future!"

"Kiki too?"

"_ How young he is! A child, looking after another child.his little brother? From what I saw of him the kid was not full Tibetan either. But there is a huge age difference.it could be his son. God! Men twice this youth's age care less about their offspring."_

Within mr. Field rose a deep respect for the Aries Saint. Both he and his wife had become very much involved in aid to orphaned children. If, because of his demanding job, he had done little more than contribute financially to UNICEF, his wife, being a lawyer on early retirement, devoted a great deal of her time to legal counsel. Due to that involvement they had known the right buttons to push in order to set in motion a scheme of recuperating the children that the Solo Foundation had gathered. After the floods the world's equally flooded charitable institutions had been only too happy to let the billionaire brat from Greece take the load of their shoulders without thoroughly investigating his intents. But now, thanks to the BBC's television program, public opinion had been roused. Shortly before leaving Sir Frederic had told his old friend that the United Nations come together in secret session, had for once been unanimous. The children would be saved. The Security Council too, had been for the first time in history in total agreement. Confronted with a common enemy, one no nation had any geopolitical or economical advantage in backing, one who could drown continents or stop the earth from spinning, they had decided to lay aside their differences for the time being to undertake joint action.

"Let's not kid ourselves. None of them will hesitate for a minute at leaving the alliance, if they could get their hands on one such child, to use him or her as a secret weapon of mass destruction, and that includes Britain. The only hope these kids have is total public awareness. Hubert, I am bound by my office, but you are a free man. You and Helena can speak for these children."

__

"And so we will, to the best of our ability! Not an easy task, yet I will fight for every last one of them, and especially for this child and his boy." 

"Of course, Kiki too, you two belong together. Take your time, son. Think about it carefully. A man always should when he's about to make an important decision. That is what I keep telling my kids." 

Mr. Field clapped Mu gently on the back. "We'll leave you to it, then."

With a gesture of his head he motioned Ikki to the Temple's exit. Outside, the Phoenix Saint could not help but express his anxiety.

"We should not have left him alone with the Cloth. True, he has disobeyed his Master once before, but at the time Sion was really on his side and making no more than a token effort: this time, Mu will have all that power against him."

"It's a bit of a gamble, I admit. However, the whole purpose of our mission is to have the Saints abandon the violent solution, or at least not see it as the only solution. Mu recited the Om Mani Padme Hum instead!"

"I do not have much faith in prayer."

"Have faith in Mu. Besides, if he fails, you are still there for the violent option."

Ikki grinned. That was the kind of reasoning he understood.

"Well, if we could get this over with quickly and move on to the Sagittarius Temple where we should not meet any resistance, we could make it to Capricorn an hour ahead of schedule."

"Is that Clock indeed so important? What happens if one does not pass a temple in the allotted time?"

"No idea. Presumably the latecomers will simply be executed."

"So the Ascension via the Twelve temples is some sort of sporting chance ranted to those who challenge the Goddess? And each Gold saint has to tale on the challengers on his own, even if they come in hordes, Temple by Temple?"

"Yes." 

"Has no one ever pointed out that that is _stupid_?"

"No. I hope you do, though."

Mr. Field reflected some more, and finally said: "I've known a number of idiot commanders in my time, but even they had _some_ senses of overall strategy and tactics. I can't make head or tail of this. It is as if somebody was playing a board game: you can make a limited set of moves, and the rules are immutable."

"What if we cheat?" said Mu softly, appearing behind them.

He still looked very feeble and slightly sick in his bloodstained trousers and dirty brown cloak which he had cast about his shoulders. But his eyes glittered and around his moth lay a mischievous grin.

Mr. Field raised a bushy eyebrow.

"You sound just like my youngest, Queer. Same impish delight, same grin too. Cheat? I have no trouble with that. Question is, how?"

"By stopping the Clock." said Mu.

Ikki's mouth literally fell open. Then he began to laugh. 

"That certainly counts as cheating; in a big way! I _like_ it! Shall we destroy it or will you teleport it away?"

"Anywhere else will put it in people's way. Destroy it! Destroy it completely! Show Athena what we think of the Godgame!"

Ikki whistled through his teeth.

"Sounds like you have come to a decision."

"Sounds like you have come to a decision."

"I have. " said Mu, "One which I will communicate to her after my own fashion. Face to face and with witnesses. But I think she needs telling first that we no longer play by the God's rules. You are right, you see. It _is_ a game to them."

"Ah yes." said mr. Field, nodding sagely, " Eternity after all is such a very long time."

__

To be continued.

Author's notes:

*In the manga it is said that the ship Hyoga and his mother took was just about to clear the zone of eternal ice before it sank. It must be in the Bering Sea, not the Sea of Okhotsk where the ice reaches all the way to Hokkaido, nor the La Perouse straight, for the Island of Sakhalin is too populated around there and to close to Japan; nor the East Siberian Sea which lies within the polar circle and is never clear of ice. Presumably they took ship somewhere off Anadyr or Beringovskiy, and Kohutec should be either in the Koryak region a little south of Beringovskiy or on the Kamchatka peninsula, at a guess just north of Ust-Kamchatsk. I would opt for the former as Kamchatka is more populated and more under Soviet control (there are, or used to be, military bases as well as gulags). 

** Mu will have told Camu of the ancient custom of Tibetan women freely sleeping about on condition that their lovers give them a nice piece of jewellery which they proudly carry to show how desirable they are (mentioned in Marco Polo's travels) and the still existing custom of polyandry, where a girl marries all her husband's brothers, making her children his regardless of who the natural father is. This keeps the land in the family. 

***All different ways of indicating the Dalai Lama. Both 'Gyatso' and 'Dalai' means 'Ocean' or rather 'an amount as great as the ocean', and 'lama' means 'teacher' or 'wise person', hence, Ocean of Wisdom. Tenzin is the present Dalai Lama's given name. He is said to be the incarnation of Chenresik the Bodhisattva of Compassion who gave the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra to the world. To say it is to pray for and to help all sentient beings to become more and more like the Bodhisattva and move towards Enlightenment. 'Cheenee' is how the Chinese are referred to both in India and Tibet. Mu's mother's fear is very real. The late Panchen Lama was a puppet of the Chinese government, yet shortly after he for the first and only time spoke in criticism of that body, he died. According to tradition, an adult Dalai Lama will appoint and guide a new Panchen Lama, and in turn the adult Panchen will do the same for the young Dalai. It is to be feared that when Tenzin Gyatso dies (helped along or not), the Chinese government will impose a Dalai Lama of their own as they did with the new Panchen and eliminate the new, true Dalai Lama, thus depriving the Tibetan people of the focal point of their religion. The knowledge that he has done the opposite of what his mother wished, and never helped his people is obviously one of the many stones that weigh on Mu's conscience.

**** Japanese. A bit like we would say 'damn!'

*****Tibetan for 'no!' or, in this case, 'don't!'

****** _Wandering entertainers and minstrels in Tibet. Ralpa is also one of the traditional dances they perform._

This chapter may seem a bit lengthy, but I thought it vital to cast a light on Sanctuary's rivalries and power-struggles and the relations between the Saints from the past to the present day as well as a behind the screens look on their private little problems inherent to growing up and how they each deal with them, according to their natures. After all they did not fall out of the sky fully grown men and their past experiences hugely influence their present characters, attitudes and actions. The same goes for the Fields. Once again, keep in mind that the Saints are all very young (at least they are to me) with very limited experience of life, and in many ways still immature. Note that I have aged all of the Gold Saints by one or more years. Mu is still a bit too young for my taste at the time of Saga's take-over, but then he is the maturest of the lot and one may suppose that his earlier life has prepared him. His secret will be revealed in Part IV. As for Scorpio, he bad-mouths more than he means to. I doubt he truly objects to Asians or half-breeds, it is pure jealousy. 


	35. Ascension : Sagittarius

Sagittarius.

Ilya came to with a start.

Floor. Cold marble. Dank musty smell, little air.

Even with his eyes still closed he could tell there was hardly any light. 

An old, enclosed place then: a Temple for sure, but which one?

No Aura. 

So. An _empty_ Temple. Libra? Or Sagittarius?

A foot connected hard with his ribcage and sent him sailing into a wall. He slumped forwards on hands and knees.

__

"Who?"

What Saint could hide his Aura so thoroughly that he had not noticed his presence? 

Smell. 

Saints generally smell of unwashed clothes and sweaty leather and metal, and blood. 

__

"There is all of that, but…different. Something else added to it…flowers? What Saint would smell of flowers? Of course, Aphrodite…but I have never met him, and this scent is not unfamiliar…"

"Open your eyes, Renegade, before I close them forever."

__

"Oh please, what a corny phrase!"

His second thought ran: _"A feminine voice…so flowers is a feminine smell! Can't be Juno or Antonia, and Athena smells fresh and expensive, so it must be…"_

It was. 

Still on all fours he slowly looked up along shapely legs to dwindle on what would have been a codpiece if he had been dealing with a male Saint. Its decorative design, right between the legs, reminded him of something he did not wish to name and which he would not have recognised or known to _how_ to name if he had not found some dirty old magazines under Camu's bed, back in his izba in Siberia. They had been moulding away, but the pictures were still fully explicit. He had been shocked then, and he was shocked now, at the immediate association, the memory, and the reaction.

"Hello Marin." he mumbled, to cover his embarrassment, " Nice to see you too."

Yes of course, Marin, who else? She alone had bee capable of making such a blank of her mind to confuse the mighty telepath Asterion, and her will had overruled the mountain's.

He leaned back against the wall, his wings outspread and his arms resting on his knees.

Angel relaxing.

"Get up. "

He sighed. This apparently was going to be difficult.

"Marin, it is really very simple: you are, of course, at all time at liberty to kill me, if you have no moral problem with that. I however have turned my back on that sort of thing. No! Don't say it!" He held up a hand to silence her, " I was forced to kill Kanon: he was threatening my friends and me. We were cast into the Bermuda Triangle and his death has released us. I am going to stand up now, and search the Temple. If my friends are not here I will go to the next one and search there, and so on, up and down. At no time do I intend to be a threat to anyone. Do you believe me?"

Marin did not answer.

"I said: do you believe me?"

"I believe you."

Much relieved he scrambled to his feet.

"I am still going to kill you."

"_Bozhe moi, grant me patience! "_

"Why ?"

For answer, the female Saint sprang in the air and rammed her right foot into him. The remains of Aioros' testament, carved in the wall behind him, crumbled.

It took him a moment to get his breath back.

"I asked you why. Can't you give me a civil answer? Why do you want to kill me?"

"Surely you know the reason. I am a Saint. It is my duty."

"Where does _Marin_ come into it? I can't believe she does this of her own free will. Or does she not have a will of her own?"

"What makes you think that my will and Sanctuary's do not coincide?"

Ilya sighed once more.

"I suppose it would have been too much to hope for that you would be reasonable. Would you be at all prepared to listen to me? I do have a tale or two to tell that might interest you. Incidentally, you do realise of course that I am two senses ahead of you and therefore _way_ out of your league…"

"That will not stop me from trying any more than it stopped you last year, against the Gold Saints."

"Will you listen though?"

"At your justifications? I think not."

Again the Aquila Saint jumped to hit him midriffs. This time he evaded her. There was a hole in the wall after she had pulled her foot free. 

"There is a way of _making_ you listen."

With a nonchalant snap of the fingers the Cygnus Saint created a ring of swirling ice-crystals around her.

"It is the Koliso." he informed her while she struggled to free herself of the cold restraints, "Eventually you will be able to break free. In the meantime however you _will_ listen. I am not going to justify myself. I just want you to know what you are working for and, more importantly, who…"

Marin thrashed about like a caged animal.

"I know what I am working for. " she snarled, " A world of peace and harmony build on Athena's principles and guided by her loving care…"

"_What_ principles? Bozhe moi, have you _any_ idea what you are talking about? _She is the Goddess of War!_ We are warriors!! There is precious little peace and harmony to be found among ourselves. It's all fighting, fighting, _fighting!_ Trainees have to vanquish their opponents in order to win their Cloths, leastways, that is what Ikki and Seiya had to do, and Cassios was not slain because Pegasus chose not to. Shun, Shiryu and I passed tests against the forces of nature. How did _you_ win your Cloth? No, don't answer that, I don't particularly want to know. You _are _a true Saint. You will live on that like one, and, having done your duty and nothing but your duty, you will not have lived at all. How old are you? Twenty? Ever had a boyfriend who took you to the cinema and discos and such? Ever been kissed? Would you even like to? Is there _anything_ left inside of you that _feels?!?"_

Marin gave a derisive laugh.

"People who do that are but half alive. They preoccupy themselves with utter futilities, attaching importance to appearance and material welfare, and the satisfaction of their supposed needs. They are all base, empty, _hollow_ inside, with no sense of direction or purpose. But we Saints feel the Cosmos explode within ourselves. We have a goal, a Mission. Our path lies clear before us. I have chosen to walk it as Seiya did; you have cowardly abandoned. You betrayed Seiya, and that I cannot forgive. For that you shall die!"

"_Aha, so there was where Seiya got that from. His fine speech about modern youth's futile existence did not come off his own bat, he was reciting his master."_

"Dear Miho, you ought to know by now that Saints barely had an original thought in their heads. They will recite the age-old adage repeated from Master to Apprentice. There are four or five generations to a century for ordinary humans, double that for Saints: they are not as long lasting."

"They are not totally without brains. They could have used them."

"Well, we did. Who can tell how many previous Saints or Apprentices felt like us and opted out? We were luckier, I guess, and were successful where they failed."

"We had outside help."

"That, and we had each other. That made all the difference."

"What is _wrong_ with you? You are not stupid. Look at what Sainthood has done to us all! _Look at what it did to Seiya!_ Consider the crap we have been fed. 'Athena abhors weapons therefore her Saints bear none save Libra to be used in direst emergency.' What about the Medusa Shield? It turned us into stone! There are Andromeda's Chains, offensive as well as defensive, and Cerberus's Morning Stars and Auriga's razor sharp discs. Jamian trained birds to attack for him, Ichi the Hydra uses _poison_. Look at the Sagittarius Cloth, for crying out loud, _it has a bow and arrow, what are those if not weapons?!!" _

In the middle of the Temple the Gold Cloth stood. A small spider had woven its web from the tip of the arrow to the knee of the body. There were a couple of flies caught in it. 

The Cloth was not dead, but it did not hum and glow as it used to do. The spirit of Aioros had either left it, or had been so thoroughly absorbed by the souls of the previous Sagittarius Saints, that he no longer imposed his will on it. Apparently, the Collective too had retired from action. 

"Can you honestly say that he does _not_ have an unfair advantage over others? And yet without it we would not have vanquished Poseidon."

For the first time Marin hesitated. 

Ilya saw that gap (little more than a fissure) in her defence. He pressed his advantage. 

"I've wondered about you. You are Sanctuary trained yet you knew from the start that Saori Kido was Athena. You were always there at the right moment, though most of the time you acted secretly. When we thought you had gone for good you produced Seika, which gave Seiya the strength to hold on. Too may coincidences or none at all…" 

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration and cried: " You are an agent of Graad! Kido send you to Sanctuary ahead of us, when he was still collecting all his children, to pave the way! While we were babies and toddlers, you were training for Sainthood, and you gained it in time to train Seiya in turn! I'm right, aren't I?"

Marin stood very still within the twirling circles of ice, expressionless as ever behind her mask. After a moment she said, defensively: " What if I am?"

Ilya had another illuminating thought. "Seiya told us about Asterion claiming you were his sister, or rather a Japanese girl come to Sanctuary looking for her brother. Were you? Was that how Kido black-mailed you into it?"

"Kido-San appointed me as his agent and honoured me with is full confidence! I have served his wishes to the best of my abilities and did what was needful. I will continue to do so!"

"I suppose Asterion had you two mixed up, although Seika must have arrived much later in Rodorio. I bet you recognised her immediately, and decided to hold her back in case you needed her, as indeed in the end you did. You knew how desperate Seya was to find is sister and yet you said nothing! You used her, you used them both! He trusted you. Not I, _you_ betrayed him!"

The explosion of her Cosmos shattered the Koliso.

Ilya gasped at her strength. She had attained the seventh Sense! Her Aquila Cloth broke free from her body, allowing the Cygnus Saint delightful glimpses of her curves. 

"Sagittarius! To me!" 

She launched herself in the air as she cried those words. It throbbed with energy, and the Golden Cloth came alive. The frightened spider hurried to the centre of its web.

"Marin! _Listen_ to me! Kido is a murderer! I have _proof_ that he deliberately had the ship that bore my mother and me sunk, and ordered the sailors to abandon her and take me! God knows how many others he had assassinated, perhaps your mother as well! He stopped at nothing to achieve his ends, and Saori –Athena knew it! Despite all protestations of her love and understanding she is as guilty as he was, _listen, it was all a lie! All lies!"_

The Sagittarius Cloth split to its separate components, sending the spider and its web flying every which way, and shaped itself around the female Saint. Marin drew the bow, pointing the arrow at the young Russian's head.

"Listen, I tell you! Even is she does mean well, and I agree she probably does, she wants to preserve the world from harm, _she goes about it the wrong way!_ Humanity has spoken up. It doesn't want a graveyard's peace, the harmony of the dead. It is no not worth the tortured children, the suffering, the sacrifices, however noble they may seem…"

The arrow trembled.

"Look behind you Marin! All of us Saints look back on a trail of corpses. All we can look forward to is a pile more!"

The bowstring sang.

"It is wrong! Wrong!! _Wrong!!! _

The arrow sought its target.

__

To be continued.

OK, that WAS what the design on Marin's Silver slip in the manga made me think of. Wears tight leotards, has a cleavage a guy would like to die in, and has to put on a mask to hide her femininity? Since the rule was imposed in Sion's day, one may suppose he never read 'Playboy'. Or maybe he did. 


	36. Ascension: Capricornus

Capricornus.

« Aldebaran, I cannot explain it in full." Antonia was saying, " It would take too long. You will just have to trust us. Trust Melina if you can't me."

The Taurus Saint hesitated between frowning deeply and scratching his head. It was not a matter of trust for him but one of what was right. 

When the fighting was over, and all Aleksej's men lay dead except the Lord of Blue Graad himself who had cautiously withdrawn halfway the proceedings, the Opiuchus Saint had ordered the complete evacuation of Rodorio. To Aldebaran's surprise, a great number of villagers, mainly young people between fifteen and twenty immediately got themselves organised, producing already prepared bundles and packs of food and cherished objects they did not want to leave behind. Obviously it was something they had been expecting.

The village priest however had protested, but Antonia, hands on hips, had looked him squarely in the eye and said: " There are two ways to go about this. Either you shut up and come along nicely, or you can stay and rot for all I care. You have three minutes to think it over. After that, we leave, with or without you. But if you _dare_ interfere…"

She had left the threat hanging.

As several older villagers backed up their priest, she had merely shrugged: " Fine, be like sheep, do Sanctuary's bidding, let your daughters be used and abused. Be aware of one thing though: he (she pointed at the now trembling priest) _he _serves two masters: Jesus Christ and Athena. I doubt that the Patriarch of Athens would approve of this man's dealings with a _pagan_ Goddess, if he knew, so he probably doesn't. What kind of Christian does that make your pope? What kind you?"

"You are a liar and a cheat yourself!" had snarled one of the old women

"Oh, so you do admit that _he_ is one!"

"You wear the Sacred Cloth!"

"Sanctuary made me, and pressed me into the Cloth. San Antonio willing, I shall turn Athena's own weapons against her and unmake Sanctuary. For the future of Rodorio's children!"

"Bitch! Whore! We _serve_ Sanctuary, we are _proud_ to do so: it is our duty and an honour."

"Honour my foot! " had cried Melina, "Perhaps you have grown so old that you have forgotten how it was for a young and pretty girl in servitude, you ugly old bat! Perhaps you have closed your eyes to what it has been like these last fourteen years, or perhaps you want us to suffer out of spite because you are not so young and attractive anymore that the Saints will chose you. Perhaps you_ liked _going flat on you back and spreading your legs for every good-looking Saint that asked you."

The old woman slapped her.

"I bore three fine sons to serve Athena. Two are guards and my youngest is a Silver!"

"That is not a recommendation." Antonia had remarked dryly.

Melina appealed to Aldebaran. "You were always kind and gentle with me. I felt protected. Then Antonia came and spoke of life outside Sanctuary, and I had hope of an existence other than grovelling and slaving for the Saints. What did they ever do in return for the food we provided by our labour? With their powers they could have assisted us growing better crops, but no, that was beneath them. I had dreams. I dreamed that you would take me away from here, of our children, growing up in freedom, going to a real school, being able to go where they pleased, children that would not be trained as murderers! I want to give them the choices neither of us ever had!"

Aldebaran came to a decision. The Taurus Saint had been a loyal follower of the Goddess, but he knew when to follow his heart. Melina had as much a publicly declared she loved him, and that was all he had ever wanted to hear.

Overjoyed, he grabbed hold of his girl, swept her up in his arms and kissed her abundantly. After a while when it dawned on him that he was doing it in full view of the entire village, he dropped her, and went beetroot. 

"Sorry." he mumbled. 

"Oh, you silly man!" laughed Melina, and then the little woman jumped up, hung around his neck and returned his kiss soundly. 

"_Prego_!*" said Antonia, "This is all very nice and all, congratulations and everything, but could we please…?"

The two lovers let go of each other, smiling sheepishly. Their hands though remained clasped.

__

"Ever since, where Melina leads Pedro will follow! She can twist him round her little finger."

"One gets the feeling that he has replaced service to Athena _with service to Melina. "_

"Better that! Much better."

__

"You are selling him short. Because he's so big and string everyone takes for granted that he's stupid as well. But he grasped the situation in Rodorio better than Antonia or I did, and acted accordingly. We would never have gotten the evacuation started with those old folk being so mulish and all, if it hadn't been for him."

"Right!" shouted the Taurus Saint, loud enough for even the deafest inhabitant of Rodorio to hear, " Those who want to come have fifteen minutes to get ready! Hop to it!"

"Take only what is essential! Food and water will be provided." added Antonia, "Three miles out of Sanctuary, at the old Temple, Red Cross trucks will be waiting for you. You will have NATO protection, and you have all been granted the status of political refugees. This means that both the United Nations and the European Community will care for you. Until we get there I…" she paused, looked at Jane and Aldebaran who both nodded, " _We_ will see you to safety."

"So get cracking!" bellowed the Taurus Saint. 

The people of Rodorio scattered like frightened hens, including those who had protested earlier on. They were used to obedience, and when a Gold Saint, a Silver and a Bronze tell you to move, you _move._

The priest however was of another mind altogether. He had enjoyed authority and prestige for far too long to let go that easily. Gathering up his robes he took to his heels in the direction of the Arena. 

Jane unfurled her whip. "I'll stop him!"

"Leave him be. Buy the time he has arrived at the Pope's Hall and convinced Dokho into doing something about it, we will be long gone. "

"There is still Shaka. He can command the Temple Guards."

"If he does, you can use your whip on them."

"What if he comes in person?"

" Then we will have to deal with it, won't we?"

The words had barely left Antonia's mouth was the glow of a Saint's mighty Cosmos inundated the village.

"That didn't last long." muttered the young Italian woman, They are on to us already."

The three rebel Saints took up their battle stances: Taurus, with his arms crossed against his chest, eyes closed and head bend a little, Chamaeleon feet apart, whip at the horizontal in both hands, Opiuchus with arms raised at different level and claws out.

But it was not Shaka who had come.

It was Shura. He surveyed the corpse of the Warriors of Blue Graad strewn about the village square with supreme indifference, and said: " _Pues**, _that swine Aleksej told the truth! He came limping back, ordering me –_me- _to kill you all. It seems that I put my eggs in the wrong basket after all. Time to remove them, I think. Athena will be grateful when I bring her your heads."

"You can try!" hissed Jane. The Chamaeleon whip swirled and lashed out. Shura caught it in his left hand and gave it a jerk. The girl was bodily lifted and propelled up and over and hard into one of the small whitewashed houses of Rodorio.

"Houses? I would not dignify it with the name house. Hut, more likely, or hovel. No electricity, no running water, earthen floors, goats running in and out, lamentable hygiene, I don't know how they put up with it. If Greece in that respect is one of the more backward regions of Europe, Rodorio is the most backwards of Greece. The only good thing Sanctuary ever did for it was ensure it escaped the terror of the Colonels and that it didn't pay any taxes…"

"Hey! Any Belgian would sign for that!"

"Taxes is what gets the trash collected, the roads build and the clean water. Anyway, Sanctuary may actually have been worse than the Colonels: they would not care about such a backwater. Ironic isn't it? The rest of the world went demonstrating to get Theodorakis out of prison, and nobody had the slightest that there was something worse than a fascist regime in Greece. And just think of all the aid the country received after they joined the EEC in 1981, which Rodorio missed out on!"

"Oh well, they can make a fortune in the tourist trade now. When Skippy and her archaeology team has declared the remains open to the public, they will be thronging in. I can see the signs: 'Authentic Greek village near a vast recently discovered religious complex'." 

"God! What a prospect! They might wish for the good old days of the Saints…"

" No they won't No-one who has tasted of freedom could."

Not as sturdily build as the Temples, the wall gave way. 

"There are people inside!" cried Antonia, " Aldebaran, take on that maniac, will you, I'll see the Rodorians safe."

The huge Gold Saint gave a brief nod. Then he announced to his zodiacal counterpart: " I am your opponent."

"Shura sniggered. " Do you imagine the Horns of the Bull, or rather his single remaining horn, is stronger than the horns of Capricorn? You may be heavier than I, but I am nimbler. Besides, you lost to the mere Bronze that was Seiya at the time, to Sorrent the Marina _and_ to those measly Spectres, what does that make you? Wait: I have it: dead."

__

"Shura made a fatal mistake there. He had always preferred and relied on Excalibur, and so neglected his 'Jumping Stone' technique. It was a weak form of attack. The Taurus defence would have held forever. He realised that after a while, and sought to draw Pedro out. Had there not been the villagers their combat would have lasted a thousand days and nights. Shorter, probably, depending on Shura's stamina. Taurus' endurance was enough to withstand twice that period."

"He would not have made a good matador, for all that he was Spanish."

"On the contrary, he would have made an excellent one. In a bull fight the poor beast is wearied out by men with spears on horseback, then weakened with pain as sharp stakes are pricked into the back of their neck, wearied further by cape-waving from those prancing peacocks who imagine themselves heroes but who can always be saved by another fellow with a cape when the bull comes too close; and when the creature is already tottering on his feet the coup-de-grace is given. Personally I would cheer every bull that succeeds in gutting his tormentor, may he die slowly and painfully. "

"Shun! What an uncharitable thought coming from you!"

"Sorry, Nastassia my love, I saw a programme on bull-fighting in Spain on television the other day"

"A Corrida is not what Pedro would call a bull-fight either, and he should know. His training consisted of taking on bulls with his bare hands, and from the bull's point of view, which after all never asked for nor ever provoked a fight, that was bad enough. Anyway they stood a better chance killing him that the other way round. At least, when he was little." 

"It is hard to imagine him ever having been little…"

"What bother's me about that combat between Capricorn and Taurus us that Shura fooled us into believing he had changed. He did fight for Athena against Hades, leastways, he did not team up with Deathmask and Aphrodite at the time."

"He probably reckoned the Athena would come up trumps like she had done in the last war, back in the Eighteenth century. Aleksej's views of the strong domineering the weak met his own fairly swell, so for a while he sided with the Blue Graaders. People don't change overnight. He may have been impressed with Shiryu, and admitted being wrong, but his essential philosophy remained the same. So did his utter ruthlessness. He admired strength above all."

"The bastard."

When is direct attack did not affect the Taurus Saint in the slightest, Capricornus sought a better target.

At his appearance, several villagers had stopped to watch at a fearful distance. Among them was the old woman that had called Antonia names. At the sight of the Gold Saint taking on what to her still were rebels, she preferred to wait for the outcome and make sure that she was on the side of the winner. That decision cost her and those standing near her their lives. 

They did not have time to scream.

"One…by…one!" panted the Capricornus Saint, by now somewhat breathless with effort, 

"The whole village, unless you surrender!"

Aldebaran had no choice. He changed position, and charged.

Rodorio lighted up and shook with the clash of the two combatants. 

Taurus lost his other horn. His opponent suffered a severe nosebleed. 

"Is that the best you can do, _hijo de toro***_? " sneered the Spaniard.

And then Shura spat out blood. Aldebaran had broken three of his ribs, and one had punctured a lung. 

He should have died there and then.

Pain can do strange things to the human body though, especially when that human is a Saint. Ordinary people will go in shock. Others, due to an extra boost of life-saving adrenalin, will go berserk. 

This was what happened to Shura. He rammed into Aldebaran head first. The spiky horns of his helmet skewered the Taurus Saint midriffs. Almost automatically Aldebaran's right knee went up, breaking what was left of Shura's nose and shattering a few teeth. The Capricornus Saint gave a whining snort. Using both arms and bringing them down like flails he sought and succeeded in breaking the other's shoulders. Aldebaran bellowed and clenched his hands around Shura's neck, ignoring the blinding pain he felt. 

There was a soft but audible 'crack', and then there was silence, as both men slowly sank to the ground, like lovers in a grisly embrace.

__

To be continued.

Author's notes: 

*Prego: 'please' in Italian

**Pues : 'So' or 'But' in Spanish

***Hijo de toro: 'son of a bull' in Spanish (meant to be an insult like 'hijo de puta' no translation needed I think?) 

On April the 21st, Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos launched a Coup d'état against the government of King Constantine II and Prime Minister Papandreou. The bloody military junta known as 'the Colonels' lasted until 1974. Mikis Theodorakis was the most famous political prisoner at the time.


	37. Ascension: Aquarius

Aquarius.

__

Warning: quite a lot of conversation in this chapter will be in French, as I felt the translation did not quite render the atmosphere. I hope those who do know the language will savour it as I do. Translation provided at the bottom.

Nick woke, cold. Colder than cold. Icy. Freezing.

And he was tired. Sleepy.

__

"Drowsiness…is deadly at these temperatures. Hypothermia. Must wake up. Wake up…and stay awake…"

He moved with difficulty.

__

"But no _frostbite as yet. All appendages still in place_."

Sigh.

__

"Relief!" 

Hard to breathe…Agonising lungs.

The burly Englishman slowly unrolled himself from his huddle position rather like a hedgehog satisfied that the coast is clear.

He opened his eyes. 

Darkness. 

No, not darkness, gloom. Filtered evening light. Automatically he glanced at his watch. The glass had shattered, but it still worked: 17.21 and 36 seconds.

"C'est l'heure de ta mort, petit homme._"_

It was the first time since Nick had topped six feet that anyone called him little.

He looked up and found himself staring at a young man with an arrogant face framed with long, _very_ long red sideburns.

__

"Aha, it is one of the Goldies again. Wait a minute, he speaks French, it must be Ilya's Master: Aquarius. Boy oh boy, I have been interdimensionally whisked through seven Temples! "

For a moment Nick reflected on how strangely calm he was for someone who had barely escaped death and was now being told that this was the hour he was going to die anyway.

"Mewci." he said.

"Plait-il?"

"Vous m'avez épargné une eshcalade plutôt fatigant. Cela méwite le mewci, même shi vous n'êtes pas twès poli. '' Nick assumed that the Aquarius Saint had interrupted his interdimensional flight and hauled him to the eleventh Temple. He was also happy to notice that it was easier for him to speak French, as the 's' and the 'n' are not always pronounced.

Nick got up, and now he was looking down on the man. 

Man? Boy. Child playing war-games. Irresponsible brats with not a brain between them. Dumb soldiers and that in his opinion was a tautology. Or was it a pleonasm? Whatever. 

He shook his had like and angry bear that has been rudely dragged out of hibernation and is trying to figure out why it isn't asleep.

Nick, too, was angry.

"Tout d'abowd, on a pas fait les shix-cent coups vous et moi, que je shache! 'Que esht-ce que enshemble nous gardâmes '? »

__

" Must be Queer's bad influence, I'm starting to quote Cyrano too, now!"

"En d'autwes tewmes, tant que je vous vous-voie, vous faites de même, esht-ce bien clair ? "

Without leaving Camu a chance to respond - which the Ice-Saint was too astonished to do anyhow, being told off for using the familiar 'tu' instead of the polite 'vous' by a mere mortal– Nick continued: "Enshuite je n'aime point les menaces. Vous n'êtes qu'un mal-embouché, voilà ce que vous êtes. D'accowd, c'est votwe pwoblème, apwès tout. Mais vous voulez me tuer, alors là, pas d'accord du tout ! Et puis qu'esht-ce qu'au jushte vous me wepwochez? " 

The Aquarius Saint was having great difficulties at maintaining his much-vaunted cool.

This ordinary mortal who was hugging himself and stamping his feet against the cold, and who was talking through chattering teeth (of which some where missing at that), this _puny creature_ dared to treat _him _like a naughty boy! Calling him impolite, rude even, and on top of it all daring to question his right to kill!

"You have entered Sanctuary at your own peril. Death is the price you must pay for it. So the Goddess has decreed. Your lack of respect alone merits summary execution."

Nick began to explain quite extensively and colourfully what he thought of Athena and her bunch of assassins.

"And furthermowe, " he said, " You can shtick your whole Gweek mythology whewe the shun doeshn't shine! Immowal wotten to the cowe good-fow-nothing, the whole Pantheon! Let me tell you thewe ishn't a Gweek alive today who wouldn't be ashamed of being asshociated with that lot. They quit wowshipping them centuwiesh ago, and anyway even at the time they didn't wespect theiw Gods all that much, witnessh Homew or Awistophanesh. Sho don't come to me blathewing about weshpecting the Goddessh! Apawt from the mosht uncivilised of shocietiesh, execution without a faiw and pwopew twial is called 'muwdew'.

"Silence!" thundered the Aquarius Saint, more shaken than he would show, " For those words you _will_ die!"

Nick suddenly became calm again. It was an utterly English reaction. In the face of the greatest danger, they absolutely refuse with bulldoggish stubbornness to show fear, even when they are close to peeing in their pants. Instead, they confront it head-on, with typical English humour. 

"Boy, I musht be a thweat if you deem it neceshsary to kill an unawmed man. I shcare myshelf now."

And with great dignity he added: "Monsieur, vous déshonorez l'Humanité tout entièwe paw vôtwe Inhumanité; piwe: vous déshonowez la Fwance! "

For all his gruff manners and bluntness of speech Nick was a shrewd man with a keen insight into the human psyche. He knew that in the heart of nine out of ten Frenchmen there slumbers a deeply rooted chauvinism, a nationalistic pride that can easily be aroused when offended and especially when their country's honour is put to question. Camu, so Nick had learned from Ilya's stories about his Master, was definitely one of the nine. The years in Sanctuary and Siberia had not lessened his love for France. 

The young dentist gave an exagerrated sigh: "Je me shewai jamais imaginé qu'un véwitable Français puisshe oublier à ce point là ce qu'il doit à sha Patwie et à la Wepublique ! "

Camu went pale. He had not heard his mother-tongue spoken for so long at a time and so fluently (Once he had figured out the speech impediment) in years, and the words stirred memories of his earliest childhood, of a little five year old boy whose name was not Camu, walking hand in hand with his grandfather on a beach in Normandy near the small town of Ouistreham. The little legs tried very hard to keep up with Papy*, and the dog Milou** would be running ahead and bark the gulls. Papy would take tiny steps and bend down a little so that his grandson would not have to reach too high for his hand.

The boy's grandfather had been a young man during the War, and every time they came to the D-Day memorial he would stop and say: "Vois-tu, p'tit gars (he called his boy: 'petit gars') vois-tu, on c'est bien battu ici pendant la Guerre!"

"C'est quoi, la Guerre, Papy?"

« A terrible thing ! » his grandfather had answered.

"War destroys everything and nobody wins. Young people should not have to fight. " 

But he had added: " Mais parfois la Liberté est à ce prix! Ah, je n'aurai pas été de ces lâches qui ont fuit en Quarante à Dunkerque grâce à ces braves Anglais pour retourner peu après, ah non, ça jamais, je me serai battu avec le Général ! "

" C'est qui le Général, dis, Papy, dis ? "

" The President of course! De Gaulle!"

"Why did you not fight with him then?"

"I was still too young. And when they came in '44 I had been taken to Germany to work in the factories. Ces salauds de Boches! But the General, he came back like he promised. He fought hard, with the English and the Canadians, et puis un peu ces Amerloques aussi!***

Inch by inch they fought for our country, on the beaches and further inland. "

Then he had turned angry and had cried out with spittle on his lips and shaking his fist: "Tandis que la canaille se tenait planquée dans les caves des maisons et se plaignait encore de la destruction, du pays!"

He had spat on the ground to show his contempt. "On ne fait pas d'omelette sans casser des œufs. » But he had added : "Better not to make war at all, though."

The little boy would one day become a Saint would not remember those last words. 

At the time did not understand why his Grandfather was so against war and destruction and yet so angry with the cowards who complained about it. He said so.

Papy had taken off his hat, something he only did in Church, and said in a solemn voice: 

" Pour la Patrie, il n'y a pas de sacrifice qui compte!"

"C'est quoi la Patrie? "

The old man had made a wide gesture encompassing the beach, the dunes and the Bocage.**** 

"C'est çà, p'tit gars! C'est la France ! La République. C'est nous ! " 

" Mamy *****aussi ? "

« Bien sûr ! All the Grandfathers and Grandmothers and all the little boys and girls and the mummy's and daddy's. Everything that exists only here and nowhere else!"

"Not in America?"

The little boy had heard a lot about America. His parents often talked about it as if they did not like it much. He hoped he would never have to go there.

"Ben tiens! Comme si on pourrait faire un aussi bon Calvados comme ton Grand-papa, en Amérique! Avec les bonnes pommes de nôtre Normandie. "

" Hmmm ! Dis, Papy, la tarte aux pommes, c'est aussi la France ? "

"Apple pie, » had declared the old man, "Is nowhere as good as here, made by your Grandmother from apples you have picked in my orchard. C'est l'ultime France! "

"Ul..ult…ultible ?"

"Ultime! It means the biggest and the best!" 

The little boy that was not yet the Saint Camu had tugged his grandfather's hand and cried. "Moi j'aimerais bien manger l'ultime France maintenant! Avec la crème fraîche, hein, Papy, hein, promis ?"

"Promis ! Avec beaucoup de crème fraîche. "

That was the best memory he had of Papy, his mother's father, and the last. Not long afterwards his parents had taken him home to Paris. 

Papy and Mamy had not approved of their eighteen-year old daughter gone to study in the capital falling in love and moving in with her professor at the Sorbonne, now long-haired and one of the ringleaders of the student revolt. ******

They had argued long and fiercely about it that last day. 

"Ce Parisien te mènera à ta perte, ma fille!" Mamy had cried, and Papy had added: " All that talk of students and workers joining hands…when did he ever work? You will see, he'll end up in jail one day, both of you, and then where will _le p'tit gars_ be, hein?"

"His name is Fidel, Papa!" had said his mother.

"After that _barbu_ in Cuba, _on sait! _C'est pas un nom de bon Français."

His father had called Papy _un vieux bourgeois._ The old man had thrown the professor out of the house, calling after him: " I am one of your precious workers! I have worked in factories and in my orchards all my life! And if 'bourgeois' is what you are not, then _foutrecul, _je suis fier de l'être!"

Papa and Maman had left at once in their second hand deux-chevaux, Papa angry at the wheel Maman crying and their little son happily repeating Papy's Bad Word : "Foutrecul! Foutrecul!" to himself. 

And then the accident had happened. 

He could not remember what exactly, something with the car, and Maman had screamed, screamed, and there had been this blinding light, and then he was in Sanctuary. He had cried for his parents and Mamy and Papy for three days, and then his Master had told him to stop. 

The pain had quickly taught him that to forget was best.

Nick could see he had struck a chord with the red-haired Frenchman. 

"Allons, shoyons waisonable." said he in a calm, soothing voice, " Allow me to take my fiancée home, and we'll talk no mowe about it. No hawd feelings."

"Vôtre…fiancée?"

Nick noted with satisfaction that Camu had not said 'ta'.

"Ben tiens! Viminalish la douce, la plus belle, la plus blonde et la plus pûwe de toutes! La meilleuwe chôshe qui a fwôlé la vie d'un fwipon comme moi! Her pawents too awe hewe, and her bwothewsh."

"Je l'ignorais." said Camu.

"Nevew mind. Jusht tell me whewe she is, no wait, you don't have to, I'll look for hew myshelf." 

The Englishman moved towards the exit of the Aquarius Temple, yet the Gold Saint held him back. His touch took the skin off Nick's arm, all the way through his coat and jumper.

"I am very sorry for your fiancée and her family, but I cannot let you pass."

"Can not ow will not?" said Nick, his deep grey eyes growing stormy under his bushy brows.

"Both. I am a Saint. I will do my duty."

"Ish it posshible? Can't you shee that youw idea of duty ish bashed on a lie and an ancient one at that? You have fought in what is bashically a family quawwel that has been going on for centuwiesh. No, cowwection, youw Godsh have behaved like childwen ovew a toy. Youw Athena has made shcandaloush use of youw youth and gullibility…"

"Athena protects Earth!"

"Posshibly, posshibly, and it would be laudable, if she bothewed to conshider whewe Eawth's besht inteweshtsh lie."

"She knows more than you about that, you puny mortal: she has lived long, and is a Goddess."

"Attitude, my boy, attitude! 'Puny Mowtal' is not how you addwess people. Though very Fwench, on ne peut plus _hautain…"_

"Tais-toi!"

"Et voilà qui me we-tutoie! Chapeau, l'éducation locale!"

Camu gritted his teeth. That ugly, insolent bear of a man had brought him quite beside himself, letting him dwell on sentiments he had believed long dead and arousing passions he should not give in to.

"I am to kill you. I have no choice in the matter."

"There is always a choice."

Camu's frostbitten heart skipped a beat, annoying him ever further.

The voice was one he had most dreaded and yet most wanted - _longed- _to hear.

"Hyoga."

"My name is Ilya." said the Cygnus Saint quietly. 

"Which shounds a lot bettew." chuckled Nick, " I alwaysh felt like I wash talking to yoghurt. No offence meant. Hello, Russki. Glad to shee you made it. What happened to the megalomaniac?"

"He did not make it. I landed in the Sagittarius Temple and had to confront Marin. She is and agent of Graad, and she has reached the Seventh Sense. As such she could wear Aioros' s old Cloth. She was quite determined to exterminate me."

"Apparently she did not succeed." said Camu." Which means I will be forced to do it."

"That has rather become a habit with you, hasn't it?" remarked Ilya dryly, " You never succeeded and anyway you yourself have admitted that I have surpassed you."

"I may surprise you yet." said his Master softly.

"Perhaps."

"What did you do with that Mawin woman?" inquired Nick cautiously, " You did shay you would not kill again."

"Nor did I. Not her. Kanon I had to: he was a true menace. She may yet be saved, defending how tied she is to Kido. It's a Japanese thing. The Aquila Saint sees herself as a loyal samurai who will rather die than betray her Master, even if that Master is a criminal. The Saints have that same loyalty: that is their tragedy. In the meantime I locked Marin in the Ice Coffin." 

He turned back to Camu. " I hope I do not have to do the same with you."

The Aquarius Saint smiled. "I thought you might. I sensed the cold of it. Oh, you are truly my best pupil! I am very proud of you, Hyoga."

"Ilya. My name is Ilya. Stop it. Stop being proud of the assassin you turned me into. Stop deluding yourself that the service of Athena is a noble thing. It may have been necessary I'll grant you that. But it shouldn't have been. It must stop. It _will_ stop. You can make it so, if you will choose my side…"

"It is not that simple." said Camu mildly, " You think that your 'side' is absolutely right. I happen to know mine is. Two irreconcilable viewpoints. Only a duel to the death between us will settle it ."

"Thewe you go again!" cried Nick, " "Mais c'esht complètement débile! Ilya ishn't offewing you to cwossh ovew to anothew shide, he wantsh you to take your own life in hand. Do what you want!"

"Precisely." said Camu.

"Oh no, I won't be drawn into that game again." breathed Ilya, " The Apprentice can only show himself worthy of his Master by surpassing him; that is, by killing him. How many fell by your hand before I came, Camu? Isaak was the last survivor. He claimed the others had fled: how? Little children in the middle of Siberia? You were a harsh taskmaster, yet not unkind. You encouraged the friendship between Isaak and me. That was the final test, wasn't it? We would have to oppose each other. The one who would show hesitation at killing a friend would prove himself the loser. That kind of sentimentality had to be rooted out. Yet the winner too would lose: the last shred of humanity he had left. His soul. I passed the test, Camu. I killed Isaak. As mercilessly as he had always hoped he would do. Congratulations: you turned me into a cold monster, an image of yourself. Yet somehow, miraculously, my humanity returned. I can cry again, and laugh, and feel sorry for you. Ironic isn't it? Almost a waste of a perfectly good emotion, to feel sorry for someone who doesn't want it."

"Yes. " said Camu, "Nevertheless I thank you for it."

"Shtop thish nonshenshe both of you." said Nick crossly, " You awe building up towawdsh a fight Ilya, howevew much you pwotest you don't want to. Ash fow you, " he bit at Aquarius, " If you want to commit shuicide, at least have the gutsh to do it youwshelf, and not let shomeone else take the wap for you."

"Suicide?" asked Ilya, "Suicide, Camu? No, that isn't it. He has no Deathwish, say rather he has no Lifewish. To be vanquished by his apprentice is his sole reason for existence. It will prove he has done his job as Saint and Master properly. Damn you, Camu, I already had to kill you once, why could you not stay dead? Why come back from Hades? I saw your body dissolve!"

"Hades brought me back to life, to kill Athena in Sanctuary. He believed He had dominion over my body and spirit, since I belonged to his realm, yet in those last moments I, like Saga and Shura, attained the Eight Sense, and so withdrew ourselves from his power. Later, the force of the blast that drilled a hole in the wall of lamentation did not kill us but merely sent us into the Interdimensional Void. We were able to return to perform a final duty, which is to stand by Athena in her battle against Zeus, father of the Gods."

"Told you: a family quawwel." muttered Nick.

The Aquarius Saint ignored him and went on: " Even now the forces of Olympos are gathering. This time we will not be facing mortals, such as the Marina's or the Spectres, but the Gods themselves : Artemis and Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaistos, Hera, …maybe even Ares if his spirit has reincarnated again, since in all probability it was chased out of Saga when he died after the Battle of Sanctuary. Remember your struggle with Hypnos and Thanatos, and tremble."

"Can't thoshe guysh meet and shit awound a table with ush and talk it over, kissh and make up, like one big happy family? Maybe we can find shome common gwound."

Camu stared at the Englishman, and asked after a momentary mindboggling image of the Gods _shitting_ around a table: "You? Why You? You are not involved. You have no say in the matter anyhow."

"Not involved? It is ush you are toying with. Eawth ishn't a plaything. The human wace can't shuwvive without it. That givesh ush the wight to shpeak up, if anything."

"You see, Camu, an new player has entered the Godgame." 

Two shadowy figures emerged from the twilight outside. A rainbow Aura swirled around the one, and around the other a smell of freshly lit tobacco.

"Glad to see you both safe and sound, boys." said mr. Field, puffing his pipe.

Mu walked up to his fellow Gold Saint. 

"Ikki sent Milo into the Bermuda Triangle, Camu. We hurried through Sagittarius where we saw Ilya's handiwork. I think you should reconsider your position."

The Aquarius Saint made no answer but peered over Mu's shoulder.

"That's right, Ikki did not come with us. He has gone to destroy the Zodiacal Clock."

"What!?!" cried Camu, " Are you mad? The Clock is a vital part of Sanctuary's defences! Without it, anyone can approach Athena's temple without passing through the Twelve…"

Mu grinned. "Yes, we thought it was about time to change the rules of the game. Give you a different perspective. Like I said: there is a new player: Humanity. That rather upsets the whole board, doesn't it?"

Camu shook his head as if to clear it.

"Mad! You have gone mad! If Ikki succeeds then what will stop Olympos?" 

"I imagine we would have to set aside our differences temporarily if negotiation does not work. " said Mu cheerily, " Band together to repel the enemy instead of sacrificing the pawns one by one."

"That is not how it is done!"

"No, but that is how we will have to do it. I hope to avoid it though. I've thought this over carefully. Someone should go to Zeus and explain the new position. I'm prepared to do it, and I would rather do it with Athena's blessing. Camu, you did not see her tears after the battle of Sanctuary. She may be a Goddess, and determined to play the Godgame in her role as protector of Earth, but deep in her heart of hearts, I know, she longs to be like any other girl. Ending the game will set her free. Don't you see? We are doing this as much for Athena as for ourselves."

__

"I never realised…you loved her, didn't you Mu? You cared Athena not as an idea, not as a Goddess, not as a duty, but as a person."

"Yes…yes. I don't think I ever did see her as anything else. She was very lonely. Sometimes I could just take her in my arms and hold her…and I never did. Of all the regrets I have, that is the greatest."

"I saw it too. When I was brushing her hair and she was staring into her mirror like she was trying not to cry. We would talk, about…well, girlish things."

"Such as?" 

"Oh, dresses, and puppies and…er…boys, sometimes."

"A boy, I'll bet. Seiya."

"Oh, Miho, are you still jealous?"

"I lost him to her. I know Seiya did not care about Athena the way Mu did, or loved her as a man does a woman, yet he revered her, enough to forget me, enough to die for her."

"Do not be jealous of Athena. You would not want to have been in her place."

"Mu, Nastassia, you two are far to lenient on her. You are kind-hearted by nature and saw her at her best. We who lived at the Kido mansion saw her at her worst. Believe me, not a nice sight."

"People have many frailties. One must not condemn them for that, but help them to overcome it."

"A Goddess isn't people. I could forgive Saori, but she was Athena reincarnated. A Bodhisattva, as you Tibetans would say. The best of people, right? The ones who have laid aside all desire and reached Nirvana."

"No, no, Ikki, the Buddha teaches us that to strive for Nirvana for Nirvana's sake is an utterly selfish act. A Bodhisattva is one who turns away from Nirvana to return to earth and help his fellowmen reach enlightenment."

"That settles it then: Athena and the other Olympians were not Bodhisattvas, 'cause they did more harm than good. Maybe they were the selfish ones turned down, and since they could not have Nirvana, they took earth, only to quarrel over it."

"Could very well be. Who knows? Perhaps they had themselves forgotten. Yet I wish I had had the time to tell Athena…to tell the lonely young woman that she was not unloved."

"You lie! You wish to take over Sanctuary! You have sold yourself to the Olympians! Let me past, Mu, I must stop Phoenix in his madness, before it is too late!"

A blast of extreme cold hit the Aries Saint and engulfed him totally. Within seconds he was captured in solid ice. 

"Out of my way, all of you, or you will follow his fate!" yelled Camu.

The ice surrounding Mu lighted up and sparkled yellow and green and red, blue and orange and violet. Then it shattered. 

"Never underestimate the Crystal Wall. One may not see it, but it is there all the same, a fine protective layer…your ice never touched my skin." 

"Then I have no choice but to kill you!" 

The answer was an even mightier blast of cold air, emanating from the balled fists of the Cygnus Saint. The Aquarius Saint was caught with his own preferred weapon: the Ice Coffin.

Mr. Field took the pipe out of his mouth after a last puff. 

" Was that absolutely necessary, son?"

"Short of killing him, that's the only way to stop him." said Ilya, trembling slightly, " It may not be sufficient. He has died twice since last I hit him with Absolute Zero. The cold of Hades may have taught him…"

Tiny cracks appeared in the coffin.

"How to break free." finished the young Russian. 

A large chunk of the coffin fell forward like a lid. Aquarius emerged.

"I told you I might surprise you yet." said Camu , " You have no choice but to fight me now, Ilya."

"There is always a choice." said Mu, echoing the Cygnus Saint's earlier words. "Ilya, cast your ice coffin again."

"Fool, that will accomplish nothing. My Aurora Execution will…" began Camu, and then stopped, swallowing the rest of this threat as not one, but two powerful forces were directed at him. The Aries Saint had joined the Cygnus. 

Ice and mineral combined to form a single block, not smooth surfaced but many facetted like cut diamond, and just as hard.

"Ice Crystals." said Mu, not without a hint of smugness, " Glad that you caught on so quickly.

The rules have changed." grinned the Russian. " It is not single combat anymore with age-old methods everyone should know by heart by now. By pooling our resources we double our strength."

"Amen to that." said Nick with a heartfelt sigh of relief. 

__

To be continued. 

__

* In French-speaking Belgium, grandfathers are called Papy. I don't know if they do so too in Normandy but I like it.

**_Milou is Tintin's dog_

*** _Papy is very French. Like General de Gaulle he so admires, he does not like the Americans. _

***_The countryside in Normandy_

*****Mamy = grandmother (see above)

__

******May 1968, student revolt in France

__

I liked the idea of Camu having for parents two Soixante-Huitards (which is how those who participated in the Student Revolt are referred to) of the kind that name their son after Fidel Castro, and a proud, utterly French couple for grandparents. This chapter also gives an insight into how Saints are recruited. Talent scouts hunt for gifted children and are none too scrupulous about how to get them.

Translation:

-C'est l'heure de ta mort, petit homme. = It is the hour of your death, little man

-Merci= Thank you

-Plait-il? = I beg your pardon?

-Vous m'avez épargné une escalade plutôt fatigant. Cela mérite le merci, même si vous n'êtes pas très poli = thanks to you I've been spared an exhausting climb. That merits a thank you, even if you are not very polite.

-Tout d'abord on a pas fait les six-cent coups vous et moi que je sache ! Qu'est ce que ensemble nous gardâmes ? = To begin with we have not done anything together, it would seem to me. What have we in common? (That last line comes out of Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, much quoted by Queer who identifies with Cyrano.)

-En d'autres termes, tant que je vous-voie, vous faites de même, est-ce bien clair? = In other words, as long as I call you 'vous', you'll do the same, is that quite clear? (The English language no longer makes that difference, but in French one only says 'tu' to a child or to close friends and relatives, never at first meeting, which is why Nick calls Camu impolite)

-Ensuite je n'aime point les menaces. Vous n'êtes qu'un mal-embouché, voilà ce que vous êtes. D'accord, c'est vôtre problème, après tout. Mais vous voulez me tuer, alors là, pas d'accord du tout ! Et puis qu'est-ce que au juste vous me reprochez ? = Furthermore I don't like menaces. You are a very rude person, that is what you are. OK, it's your problem after all. But you want to kill me, well, there I am not OK. Besides, what exactly do you have to reproach me?

-Monsieur, vous déshonorez l'Humanité toute entière par vôtre Inhumanité pire, vous déshonorez la France ! =Sir, you dishonour all of Humanity with your Inhumanity. Worse, you dishonour France

-Je me serai jamais imaginé qu'un véritable Français puisse oublier à ce point là ce qu'il doit à sa Patrie et à la République.= I could never have imagined that a true Frenchman would to that point forget what he owes to his country and the republic ('country' is but a poor rendering of the meaning of 'patrie') 

-Vois-tu, p'tit gars, vois-tu, on c'est bien battu ici pendant la Guerre. = you see, little fellow, you see, people fought hard here during the War!

-C'est quoi la Guerre, Papy? = What is War, Grandpa ?

-Mais parfois la Liberté est à ce prix! Ah, je n'aurai pas été de ces lâches qui ont fuit en Quarante à Dunkerque grâce à ces braves Anglais pour retourner peu après , ah non, ça jamais, je me serai battu avec le Général ! = But sometimes Liberty is at that price! Ah, I would not have been one of those cowards who have fled in '40 at Dunkirk thanks to those good English, ah no, that never, I would have fought with the General. ( See the appropriate literature on 'the miracle of Dunkirk', the 'little ships' and General De Gaulle.)

-Ces salauds de Boches! = Those dirty Krauts!

-Et puis un peu ces Amerloques aussi = And then a bit those Amerags too.( A loque is a rag, hence: Amerags. An Englishman is un Angliche, a German un Boche, a Swiss un Swissard and a Belgian…un Belge, and that is not a compliment.)

-Tandis que la canaille se tenait planquée dans les caves des maisons et se plaignait encore de la destruction du pays! = While the dirty rabble was cowering in the caves of their houses and complained about the destruction of the country! (The fighting in the Bocage of Normandy was very hard and bloody with massive destruction, which dampened the gratitude of the liberated locals somewhat)

-On ne fait pas d'omelette sans casser des oeufs = one does not make an omelette without breaking eggs.

-Pour la Patrie, il n'y a pas de sacrifice qui compte. = For your country, there is no sacrifice that counts.

-C'est quoi la Patrie? = What is the country ?

-C'est çà, p'etit gars! C'est la France ! La République. C'est nous ! = It's that, little fellow ! It's France. The Republic. It's us! (There is no patriotism like French patriotism…)

-Mamy aussi? = Grandma to?

-Bien sûr = Of couse!

-Ben tiens! Comme si on pourrait faire un aussi bon Calvados comme ton Grand-papa, en Amérique! Avec les bonnes pommes de nôtre Normandie. = Hah ! As if one could make an as good Calvados like your Grandpapa does in America ! With the good apples of our Normandy. (Calvados is apple brandy)

-Dis, Papy, la tarte aux pommes, c'est aussi la France? = Say, Grandpa, apple pie, is that too France ?

-C'est l'ultime France= it is the ultimate France

-Moi j'aimerais bien manger l'ultime France maintenant ! Avec la crème fraîche, hein, Papy, hein, promis ? = Me I would like to eat the ultimate France now! With cream, hey, Grandpa, hey, promised? (Apple pie with cream is a Norman delicacy. Fraîche does not mean fresh when talking about cream, it is to distinguish from whipped cream which is crème chantilly. Clotted cream is crème fraîche épaisse.)

-Promis! Avec beaucoup de crème fraîche.= Promised ! With lots of cream.

-Ce Parisien te mènera à ta perte ma fille ! =That Parisian will lead you to your downfall, my daughter

-barbu- man with a beard

-On sait =one knows

-un vieux bourgeois = and old bourgeois (not a compliment in the moth of a Soixante Huitard) 

-foutrecul = fuckarse.

-Je suis fier de l'être = I am proud to be it!

-Allons, soyons raisonable. =Come, let's be reasonable.

-Vôtre fiancée = your fiancée (Fiancée also means: girlfriend, like in Spanish 'novia')

-Ben tiens! Viminalis la douce, la plus belle, la plus blonde et la plus pure de toutes! La meilleure chose qui a frôlé la vie d'un fripon comme moi ! = Well see, Viminalis the sweet, the most beautiful, the blondest and the purest of all! The best thing that has touched the life of a bad guy like me! (Here Nick is also a bit quoting from Cyrano)

-Je l'ignorais. = I did not know it

-On ne peut plus hautain= one can't be more haughty.

-Tais-toi = shut up

-Et voilà qui me re-tutoie ! Chapeau l'éducation locale ! = And there he calls me tu again! Hats off to the local education.

-Mais c'est complètement débile! = But that is utterly moronic!

I hope that all the accents come out right and are not rendered by some odd symbol which makes the text hard to decipher. I've encountered that before. 


	38. Ascension: Pisces

Pisces.

Sir Frederic had two passions in life. One was his job, which did not mean that he believed that what he did was always morally justifiable or even necessary, but he happened to be good at it. The other, his roses.

As sixty-five was drawing on he was quite looking forward to spending his retirement years in his garden. Perhaps try for the Chelsea Flower Show. There was this wonderful Floribunda Tea-hybrid he had that could well fall within the prizes or perhaps his lovely high Polyantha (rare nowadays) 'Orange Triumph'...

He was therefore agreeably surprised to find himself coming to in a rosegarden full of varieties he had never seen before in red, white and, astonishingly, black. 

Soft scents drifted on the breeze. He had never been so close to his idea of Paradise.

__

"Perhaps I have died and gone to Heaven. Flowers In winter? Unless I have been teleported to the Antipodes..."

"Do you like my roses, mortal?" asked a gentle voice from behind.

Sir Frederic was far too experienced an Intelligence Officer to make the mistake of turning round. Instead he scrambled to his feet, dusted the dirt and grass off his uniform, straightened his cap that had miraculously kept on his head and replied, casually but honestly: " Very much, although I must admit I prefer the oranges and yellows, and of course the wild, white rambling English Rose. The slightly pink Rosa Eglanteria that smells of apples so praised by Shakespeare... 

"A connoisseur! Ah yes, of course, you are English..."

Now Sir Frederic turned.

"Mountjoy. Colonel, SIS, temporarily in active service. And you are?"

He eyed the young man in his pale blue chiton that left one shoulder bare with studied interest.

"I am called Aphrodite." said the youth. Long blonde curls framed classical features marred only by a small mole under the left eye. 

"In Greece that is a man's name too." he added defensively as if in anticipation of the Englishman's reaction. Sir Frederic had none.

"I know the problem." he said mildly, " My middle name is Earnest.* One gets used to the sniggers eventually."

Sir Frederic looked around. Somehow the garden seemed a bit too perfect. The grass was too green and too neatly clipped (and as an Englishman, he _knew_ about the upkeep of lawns) the earth between the flowers devoid of the merest hint of weeds, the scents too heavy and the blooms themselves too rich and fully open... These roses were simply too, well, rose-ish.

"This is very lovely, but could you please end the illusion? I prefer reality."

It was a long shot, and Sir Frederic was as surprised as the young man was astonished to have hit bull's eye. Aphrodite had not counted on a mere mortal being so perspicacious as to recognise falsehood. 

Slowly his appearance changed. The simple chiton became the Pisces Cloth complete with helmet. The garden too, faded. Summer blend into winter and where the roses had been there were merely the thorny stalks, neatly cut back at the appropriate height. Nevertheless the beds were as well-tended and as free of weeds as in the illusion. A couple of taller bushes were packed in straw.

"Having a little frost trouble? At this height that is to be expected. You seem to cope remarkably well: I have rarely seen garden better prepared to weather the winter. Enough about horticulture though. Obviously you have no intention of killing me as yet, or you would have done so already and not gone to the trouble of that illusion. Let me guess: you have thrown in your lot with Aleksej of Blue Graad, the odds are now against him and you are pulling out?"

"You are...not wrong."

"On the other hand, " Sir Frederic pursued his rather gruesome train of thoughts, " You stand to gain by offering my head on a platter to whoever is in charge of Sanctuary at the moment. Buy your way back into the fold, so to speak."

"I have backed the wrong horse twice before." admitted Aphrodite, " The outcome of this struggle is doubtful. Four Gold Saints have fallen: Kanon of the Gemini, Cancer and Capricorn. That last one is too close for comfort. The Cosmos of Draco who went to protect the Libra Temple and Scorpio's is very faint. I can barely sense Taurus: he seems to be alive but heavily wounded. Saga is deep in a depression of sorts, Leo has just come out of an equally deep healing trance, and Virgo is meditating as usual. Which leaves only Aquila who has taken up position in Sagittarius and Camu before the intruders get to me, and they are way ahead of schedule. With Cygnus and Phoenix and, I believe, Andromeda and Aries helping you, that makes you a serious player in the game, and I want to be sure this time I'm on the side of the winner."

"We did not come to supplant Athena." said Sir Frederic with a frown, "Though the International rule of Law may decide to have her, theoretically if not factually, deposed. She is not officially recognised either as a head of State or of a Cult and she's a minor. Most likely that you will be regarded as a criminal organisation and treated as such. Some ten hours ago my opposite number in the Koan Chosa Kyoku** informed me that they were about to dismantle Graad.

The Japanese are extremely embarrassed that the West has found out that they have allowed such an Organisation to thrive for so long on their territory and ours -hell, it happens - so I don't give it much chance of survival: they are very efficient when they want to be, at the KCK. Naturally, each and everyone of you Saints is capable of resisting any force we might throw at you, so maybe Athena will try to take over Earth as a whole rather than work behind the scenes as was her wont. Now that she has been found out, that may be her best option. I am actually quite surprised that not one of you has tried that before..."

"Except for Poseidon and Hades who aimed to destroy rather than to take-over. Saga made a half-hearted attempt, and the spirit of Ares we think possessed him. His, I mean Saga's conscience played up and he did not reach halfway his preparations." said the Pisces Saint, " Bunglers like he are very hard on those who want to be winners. Before you know it you end up with the losers. Can I offer you a drink? No tea, I'm afraid, but I have an excellent retsina. Perhaps a little ouzo?"

Sir Frederic could not help it: he had to laugh.

"You are a wonderful opportunist. Have you considered going into politics? I can predict you a bright future in that trade. I'll go along with the retsina. Any change of going into the warmth? I get chilblains."

"Not a problem. The Zodiacal Temples are not very accommodating, but I've managed to add a few home comforts."

"Ah. Am I right in presuming that you made a few illegal outings into the 'real' world to obtain those comforts? Including the drink..."

" You are. They date from the days that Saga was passing himself off as Sion though: he did not forbid his nearest collaborators to slip out and enjoy the pleasures of Athens and other places once in a while. Athena is like Sion in that respect."

"No R&R for the troops? That is asking for trouble. Hmmm, did you pay for those pleasures?"

"Why should I?"

Sir Frederic decided to take a risk. The Pisces Saint had a quaint personality. On the one hand he was unashamedly without scruples, amoral rather than immoral. The Intelligence Officer knew men (and women) on the Service like that, and had always handled them with extreme caution, never ever fully trusting them. On the other hand, Aphrodite was as open and charming as a child about it, and the care with which he saw to his garden taught the Englishman that he was not incapable of love. "It's usually considered a crime when you don't." he said, "Theft."

"A crime! Crimes are committed all over the world. Wars are fought, children are orphaned, abused, killed, what are a bit of furniture, a few bottles of wine and a couple of sacks of compost compared to that?"

__

"Aha, not completely without a conscience, that one. He has understood what is wrong not just with the world but with Sanctuary as well. And the pleasures of the bright cities seem to be wine and stuff for his roses. He could be a better person than everyone thinks he is."

"Know this, mortal. The flowers here have not been tended with love, but with hate, and I have watered them with blood"

__

"A very lonely and unhappy young man, too. He tries to hide it with swagger talk."

"You are speaking metaphorically I hope. " said Sir Frederic, " Blood would not be good for them. I can understand that your past has made you bitter, but what have the roses ever done to you to deserve such treatment? Cigarette?"

The officer pulled a packet of Camels out of his pocket and offered Aphrodite one.

"I threatened you just now, in case you have not grasped the meaning of my words." 

Pisces accepted the cigarette though. 

"Rest assured, I did." said Sir Frederic and passed him a light. Aphrodite inhaled and coughed.

"Yes, they are a bit strong without a filter."

The Pisces Saint smiled bravely and took another puff, holding the Camel in the classical beginner's pose: between thumb and forefinger, in pursed lips. As he ushered Sir Frederic into the Temple, he surreptitiously threw the half-smoked end away. The officer smiled and lit another one.

And so it was that, when Ilya, Mu, Nick and Mr. Field came staggering into the last of the Twelve Temples, they found Sir Frederic and Aphrodite settled down in a comfortable sofa next to a coal burner, deep in discussion on such fascinating subjects as deadheading and how to treat greenfly.

"Ah, there you are." said the officer, " Come and join us. Wine anyone? Nibbles?"

"How do you like that!" exploded Nick, " We get the Abominable Shnowman, and he shits awound with the Ephebe having a good time. Oh wait, I get it. We'we bawely out of the Shagittawiush houw. I shupposhe twadition demandsh thoshe waving lunaticsh hewe to wait theiw tuwn. "

"We don't shit around wave at people." said Aphrodite puzzled, after having correctly identified whom Nick meant with 'lunaticsh', " Oh, you mean raving. I would not complain if I were you. I, after all, am the evil twelfth."

"So you have always pretended to be." said Mu, "Which makes me wonder all the more why you have left this man untouched."

"To see which way the wind was blowing." explained Sir Frederic," Alternatively to wait till we were all gathered together and eliminate us with one blow. That is what I would do. The lad has been explaining extensively about his poisonous, bloodsucking, flesh-eating roses."

"What a delightful conversation that must have been." said mr. Field.

"Quite." agreed his friend. "Very informative too."

Aphrodite stared from one man at the other.

"Mu, can you explain these people to me? Why are they not mortally afraid?"

"Becaushe we'we Bwitish. " said Nick cheerfully, " We don't want to be sheen shivewing in ouw shoesh. Got a weputation to uphold. May I have shome of that plonk? Ta."

« Status, Hubert?" Sir Frederic the senior officer had resumed command 

Mr. Field filled him in.

"Capricorn was not in his Temple." he finished, "Thus we were able to come straight here. His Cosmos apparently went out towards the end of the Virgo hour, so we presume he is dead." 

"Shnuffed it." said Nick.

"He abandoned his post to do battle in Rodorio." Aphrodite informed them, " Died before his hour struck. The fool."

"Oh good, one lessh to wowwy about."

"Amazing how young people can be perfectly callous when they think they are more moral than us old ones." said Sir Frederic. "However, I agree with the assessment. How about your family, Hubert?"

"Apparently Leo has come out of his healing trance, so they should be away to safety now. Oh, and I forgot to tell you: I am the proud grandfather of a bouncing baby boy."

"Congratulations. That leaves only Queer. He's not here, which means he must be ahead in the Hall of the Pope or Athena's Temple."

"With missh Boobsh hewshelf. Shome guysh have all the luck."

"I wish my cellphone worked. Commander Lawrence and his team should be aware of the changed situation."

"Maybe if Ikki has destroyed the Clock communication will be restored."

"Don't be so optimistic." said Aphrodite, " The Clock may prove harder to destroy than Main Blade Winner. Perhaps I should eliminate you now."

"In one blow?" inquired Mu, ironic as ever, " Against a Gold Saint and a Demi-ourgos? Face it, Pisces. You are outnumbered four, perhaps five to one if Aiolia is in. Taurus is, but his cosmos is feeble. The others are either neutral or put out of harm's way. The old Game is over. New players, new rules. You remain. Decide now."

"I..."began Aphrodite, " I... need to think."

"And I need a dwink." said Nick, taking another swig of retsina. "God, this shtuff's dishtilled tuwpentine. Hash anyone got a fag?"

Sir Frederic threw him his packet of Camels. 

"I think someone should go to Thompson. I send Seika and Kiki to him, and they will assist in the evacuation of Rodorio, which should be finished by now."

Mu closed his eyes. " I am in telepathic contact with Kiki. They are far from Sanctuary: aboard a ship…"

"The Enterprise! Thompson must have flown them back. What has happened?"

After a moment's silent conversation, Mu put them all in the picture. " The battle in Rodorio lasted two hours, and then Capricorn appeared. He killed a couple of villagers, and he and Taurus fought. Both were grievously wounded. Thompson did not dare to interfere in the fight between the Saints, but he has ferried the wounded to the ship. Kiki and June -oh, is she called Jane? Jane then- went along. Seika and Shai-Antoinia remained with the Rodorians and led the evacuation. The doctors on board the ship could save Aldebaran, but for Shura all help came too late…we knew that, since we felt his Cosmos fade into nothing. Commander Lawrence is ready to leave. Kiki is telling him now what the situation here is."

"It would be better if a Saint accompanied the diplomats. We cannot demand that of Miss Stafford. Ilya, if you could?"

"Not a problem, with Mu's help I'll teleport directly to the Enterprise."

The Russian vanished in a flash of rainbow colours.

"Amazing. The Tibetan guy should wowk fow public twanshpowt." whispered Nick at mr. Field, " Wondew who he ish. Eshk thinksh he ish deshended fwom that Gewman fellow Hawwew."

"Heinrich Harrer is an Austrian and as far as I know he always behaved like a perfect gentleman towards the female population of Tibet in all of his seven years there."

Nick muttered something that sounded regrettably like "I'll get Esk fow thish."

"Someone's coming!" cried the Pisces Saint, casting his senses about.

"Some two, I would say, Saints, and three mor…ordinary humans…no! Four!" said Mu.

It was Leo and Andromeda, and with them were Vimi, Esk and his wife and their newborn baby.

"Was zum Teufel!" shouted mr. Field. When he was really beside himself he forgot about British cool and always subconsciously shifted into German, his mother's tongue. "I told you to pull out!"

"And we talked it over." said Esk calmly. "We agreed we ran as much risk of suffering the Goddess's displeasure at home as here."

"So we might as well confront her." said Vimi with quiet determination. There was a light in her eyes that had not been there before. Her father noticed it at once.

"Vimi?" 

"I'm better, daddy. All better."

"Viminalis…"

"It is true, Cap." said Skippy quietly, "The Leo Saint healed her."

For a moment it seemed like the elderly Englishman was about to burst into tears. He cast his arms around his frail daughter and held her tight as he said in a broken voice: " My girl…my little girl…welcome back."

"Yes daddy. I am all back. " said Vimi, her pale eyes large and luminous as her smile -a real, happy smile- lit up.

"Vi...Vimi?"

Nick, who had made himself comfortable on the sofa, was struggling to his feet. The young woman walked up to him and laid a hand on his cheek. The big man went red, tried to take her in his arms, found that this was impossible with a bottle in one hand and a cigarette in the other, thrust the former at Mu and the latter on the floor, whooped, swept Vimi off her feet and swung her round and round. Neither of them spoke, but the happiness on their faces said more than words could. Esk laughed at the sight, and Skippy smiled her teeth white. Mu and Shun exchanged delighted glances, and Leo looked glad and proud. Aphrodite looked on impassively.

Mr. Field turned towards the Leo Saint, incapable of speech. He held out his hand. 

Aiolia appeared exhausted and fey like a man who had seen hell, and perhaps he had. Hesitantly he took the Englishman's proffered hand.

"Thank you." 

A nod, a shake, a heartfelt smile. More was not needed.

"He helped me too." said Skippy, " Even a sturdy Sheila ***like myself can't give birth and climb seven great staircases immediately afterwards. It is absolutely amazing. It feels like I never had a baby at all! Aiolia could make a career as midwife. Midman. Whatever. Mind you, Shun had to carry me: Esk wasn't up to it."

"I'm an academic, not a weightlifter." said Esk.

"That's no way to call the mother of your son!"

The young couple laughed and smiled at each other and returned to the mutual adoration of their child.

"Where is _your_ mother?" asked mr. Field, " Pray tell me that she at least did the sensible thing."

"Depends on what you'd call sensible." said Vimi, " Pal stayed behind with Virgo. She nearly went ballistic when she saw that girl wearing your coat and nothing much underneath…"

"Girl?" interrupted Aphrodite, " What girl? Nastassia? In _Virgo's_ Temple? _Naked?_"

"Indeed it was not!" cried Shun, " Why do you automatically presume it is Nastassia? She is not the only girl in Sanctuary. There are women in Rodorio…"

"The village was besieged and when the Clock is running they can't come here anyhow. Shaina and June are there, and Marin was in the Sagittarius Temple, that's all the women in Sanctuary."

"There's Athena…er yes, that may seem unlikely…"

"There is Shaka." said Mu with a chuckle, " I am glad that her secret is finally out."

__

"Shaka is a woman!?!" cried out simultaneously Andromeda, Leo and Pisces. 

"And you _knew?"_ added Aiolia shamefacedly.

"I hope I can tell the difference between a boy and a girl." said Mu smiling sweetly, " No, seriously, Shaka managed to get away with the most outrageous things. Not just posing as a boy, but as a _trulku_ **** as well. There are female incarnations but she'd have to change her philosophy of dispassionate violence to pass herself off as a reincarnated aspect of the Buddha!"

"That seems to prey on her mind too." said Esk, " Anyhow she looked pretty distraught and good old mum felt sorry for her. Decided to have a heart to heart, woman to woman. That kind of thing. Mother her a bit."

"Shaka being mothered! Now there's a sight!" laughed Aphrodite; but he sounded envious.

"Can't do her any harm I suppose." said Mu.

"It is the harm she can do to Helena that worries me." said sir Frederic.

"Shaka does not kill superfluously and would never stoop to harming mere mortals." Pisces informed him.

"That fails to reassure me."

"We awe all dead anyhow." said Nick, " The minute we committed ouwshelvesh to Ilya we wewe on Athena'sh hitlisht. Sho one might ash well twy and appeal to the bettew natuwe of hew hitmen . Ow women. Appeawsh to have wowked with shome."

"Is that what this is all about?" asked Aphrodite, " Do you believe that waving a baby under my nose is going to melt my heart? That ugly, wrinkled _smelly_ thing…"

"That is my son you are insulting." said Esk, " And I happen to think he is beautiful. "

"Beauty is entirely in the eye of the beholder." said the Pisces Saint,

"Although I must admit that his little fingers are quite cute, like maggots…"

"Hey!"

"Maggots are very good for he soil. And his mouth is like a rosebud. Actually he is rather sweet…but I still could crush his skull between my fingers. Perhaps I will."

Skippy drew her baby close to her breast, and her husband went to stand protectively in front of her.

"Over our dead bodies!"

"Yes, that is the general idea." 

"What do you want Aphrodite?" asked Mu softly.

"What?"

The Aries Saint's gently spoken question rattled his Zodiacal colleague.

"If you were not a Saint, or if you could opt out, what would you want for yourself?"

"There is no opting out!" shouted Pisces, " I know that better than anyone!"

"Ilya will be going to school." said mr. Field.

Aphrodite stared.

"School?"

"We are preparing him for his entrance examinations. He is very interested in history, literature and philosophy, and has worked hard to catch up."

"What good will that do to him?"

"An education is always worth striving for. It helps one think for one's self."

"I have a mind of my own!"

"Have you? You did not answer my question." said Mu.

"I know what I want." said Shun helpfully, " Go places. Get to know people. How they think, how they feel, how they cope. I want to see the world!"

He blushed. "I guess that is pretty selfish."

"Nothing wwong with healthy shelfishnessh once in a while." said Nick.

"I want to go home." said Mu quietly.

"Where would that be? A tower in the middle of nowhere?" sneered the Pisces Saint.

"My home is where I have been happy. Where is yours?"

"I…" began Aphrodite, and hesitated. There came a far-away look in his blue eyes. At length he spoke: " We…my parents and I…we lived in a cheap apartment flat in Stockholm. That was where I was born, and I knew no better. My mother cleaned rich folk's houses and my father was a plunger in a restaurant. Whenever they could they would take me to the park. I learned to walk in the rose-garden. I remember there was an arch of sweet-smelling pink roses that framed Sion when he came to punish my parents for their defiance. It was destroyed, as they were destroyed. There is no opting out, I tell you!"

"I am sure that Dione and Sven knew that too. That did not stop them from trying."

Aphrodite's Cosmos flared. 

"How dare you! It was your Master that killed them!" 

Then his lip trembled, and he turned on his heels and half strode, half ran out of his Temple.

"Dione and Sven?" inquired Sir Frederic.

"His parents." answered Mu, " I had better talk to him. He will be in his garden. That is where he buried them."

It took a while for the Fields to recover from the horror of Aphrodite's and Mu's revelations. They shared the details of their adventures so far and discussed their plans for the future. Aiolia stood a little to the side, listening but not contributing, unsure how to react. Nick, in the middle of an account in which he practically single-handedly vanquished Camu ("Nobody will evew catch _me _shinging joyfully about the Dawning of the Age of Aquawiush again!") noticed the young Greek's silence and gave him a friendly nudge.

"Don't be shy! You awe one of the good guysh. Have a shwig of wetshina. Hey, can you gwow my teeth back?"

"Er…no."

"First thing we'll do when we are home is take you to the dentist, Nick" said Vimi.

"I am scawed of them! The only one I tolewate ish me, and I am not a shelf-shewvice!" the big man laughed uproariously at his own joke.

"On the other hand, the first thing we should do is sober you up." 

"Sowwy, love, I needed shome Dutch couwage. I thought, what the hell, if I am going to die shoon anyway…'cause dying ishn't sho bad, it'sh nevew sheeing you again…" he gulped and took her in his arms. Vimi kissed him. 

"You were always with me. You always are." she whispered.

Sir Frederic, hating to spoil their moment, coughed.

"We are coming to the most delicate part of our mission, so from now on, please, if the least diplomatic member of our party could mind what he says and to whom…?"

He looked sternly at Nick who winked unconcernedly back. 

"Let's recapitulate. First our strength. Psychologically we have indubitably the advantage, since we have reached to a point no one thought us likely to come. "

"That would worry some, but not Athena." said Shun, "She has always had absolute faith in us and never doubted our victory." 

"There is such a thing as overconfidence. "said Sir Frederic, " One may presume that once she hears of her Saints having a change of heart she will stop deluding herself. Especially with Mu so outspokenly on our side…and three other Gold Saints either hesitant or neutral…"

"I am with you in so far as you mean no harm to the Goddess." spoke up Leo, "I will not betray her again…yet this whole hostage taking business and the introduction of these Blue Graaders …Peace and Justice are not served that way."

Sir Frederic breathed deeply at the naivety.

__

"Children…Idealistic, innocent children. One day you will find out that those in power will deem any means necessary and justified to achieve their ends, and sometimes that end is indeed peace and justice. The Englandspiel served its purpose at a terrible, terrible price…Apparently that fact of life has dawned on Athena a bit sooner than the rest and she's putting it into practice. My poor lad, what a rude awakening you will have."

The awakening came sooner than Sir Frederic supposed.

"Still trying to think well of Athena?" asked Aphrodite from the open Temple gates. Accompanied by Mu he had returned in time to hear Aiolia's last words. " When will it finally get through to you that not even your precious Goddess can stay clean of the corruption that absolute power brings? Sion steeped his hands in blood for Athena's sake! You yourself were perfectly alright with murdering the young girl Saori Kido whom you believed to be an impostor."

The Pisces Saint crossed his arms over his chest. " Athena, Poseidon, Hades, Ares…they are all one to me now. I'm not going to help anybody anymore. I won't stop you in your quest though. Kill, be killed, it is all one to me. Neutral observer, that is Pisces from now on."

Sir Frederic chuckled.

"Very Swedish too.***** Fair enough. We do not plan on attacking Athena. However, should it come to blows, we do have the best possible defence with us. As I understand, Mu's Crystal Wall and Shun's Chains are solid…"

"That is to say…as long as I allow the Andromeda Chain to repel an attack by herself. I seriously bungled it when I treated the Crab the way I did Scylla's Spider…" said Shun.

"Well, obviously, crabs are not spiders, despite the likeness in appearance and even if they are sometimes referred to as 'sea-spiders'. What did you expect?" said Esk.

Shun blushed. Marine biology was not his forte, nor Ikki's for that matter. Over-confidence was indeed a weakness sometimes. His brother and he had been so certain of their case they had made a near fatal error while battling Cancer.

"Hey! Thish fwom the man who can't tell an Aushtwian fwom a Gewman ! You awe a fine one to cowwect a lad who hash nevew been to school, _Mistew Pwofessow!"_ said Nick, delighted to fault his pedantic friend for a change. 

Esk was only momentarily put out, searched and found an answer: " He was at the time when came to Tibet. After the Anschluss Austria was part of the German Reich."

"Heinrich Harrar has always been a proud Austrian." said his father crossly, "He would not thank you for calling him German, any more than a Tibetan will appreciate it when you take him for Chinese."

"Very true." said Aries.

"Which reminds me…" mr. Field exchanged a glance with Sir Frederic, " Mu, can we have a word with you alone? A couple of things we need to make sure of."

The two Englishmen and the young Tibetan went to stand a little way apart from the others who made themselves comfortable in and round the sofa. Skippy bared one breast to give her son his first feed. Her husband watched with delight, the Saints with some embarrassment. Vimi and Nick had eyes only for each other.

"How far can we trust that fellow Pisces?"

"Far enough as long as his sanity holds." answered Mu, " You may well worry. My…Sion, the Pope, had his parents executed in front of him. That taught Aphrodite that Power is Everything. The former Scorpio Saint who specialised in poison, finished his upbringing. Most Saints were collected after a similar fashion. Not just every child can become one: it has to be gifted. It is the Pope's job to search the world for such children, when Sanctuary cannot provide enough of its own. The Gemini, Aioros and Aiolia and Milo are from that breeding. Aioros had to kill his own father and Master, the Silver Orion Saint to be deemed worthy of the Sagittarius Cloth. "

"My God how perfectly Freudian." exclaimed Sir Frederic, " Killing one's father to serve one's 'mother', Athena. Like that fellow Orestes…"

"Oedipus." corrected mr. Field, " Orestes is the one who killed his mother because she had murdered his father. It may come to that too. Classic Greek Tragedy in the Twentieth Century. How do you like that?"

"Not at all. Did the others also have their parents murdered?"

"Aldebaran's were happy to hand him over as they thought he would escape the misery of the slum in which they lived. Of Deathmask I only know that he is- was- Italian. Shaka was abandoned. I believe Shura's father was in prison in Spain, and his mother hoped he'd have a better life elsewhere.***** Camu's parents were killed in a car accident, but it may not have been an accident."

Once more the two Englishmen exchanged a glance. 

__

"An impressive hitlist. I thought the Service made the most callous use of their effectives, but the Goddess and her Pope outshadow even us." thought Sir Frederic.

__

"He does not speak of his own parents. Better not ask. He'll tell when he's ready. " thought mr. Field, and then another thought crept into his mind, one he did not want there, "_What if…no, that would be too much of a coincidence. Anyway it is impossible. There were witnesses who saw Dolma and our twins being swept away by that avalanche in the Lipu Lekh******. No, no, I don't want to believe either of them survived, not in China dominated Tibet, and certainly not to become the father or mother of a Saint…"_

Sir Frederic, who knew all about his friend's past, saw him struggle with hope, fear, horror and then push it back, firmly.

__

"Poor Hubert. To be confronted with this young Tibetan must bring back memories. Who could be the lad's father? He's about Queer's age, a little younger, born in '65 at a guess, right in the middle of the worst period for China and Tibet, no westerner can possibly be his parent. Unless he is Nepalese and he was fathered by an early hippie in Kathmandu…Anyway, that is not our immediate concern."

"All this does not inspire me with much confidence. I would prefer it if a trustworthy Saint kept an eye on Pisces. Aiolia perhaps? That will solve his problem of loyalty. He need not come with us to Athena's Temple, and come into conflict with his conscience." said Sir Frederic.

"That would be best." agreed Mu, "I'll put it to him. Keep in mind though that he still believes. If you threaten Athena in any way, you are dead. All of you, including the baby."

"Understood. The lad's an Idealist, he cannot afford to think. Who was it that said: 'A person who is prepared to lay down his life for his Ideal, will be even more prepared to lay down the lives of others for it.'?" 

"The French philosopher Raymond Aron." said mr. Field. "But we've encountered that before, haven't we? In our younger years there were Idealists left and right. Total obedience to the leader, bordering on adulation is nothing new to us either. Athena is simply a born fascist. Aiolia is like one of those young Nazi's or young Communists. Their Ideal would save the world, regardless whether of the world wanted saving, or needed saving at all. More often than not they were very likeable young people too."

"All the more reason for keeping the Leo Saint away from us. My second question is: what are your intentions with Athena, Mu? Do you still want to talk to her first? You position appears to be that what we are doing is beneficial to her as well as to us…"

The Aries Saint thought a while before answering.

"Athena had a lot of servants. She does not have a single friend."

"Is that how you see yourself?"

Over the green eyes the delicate eyebrows knotted together, allowing the men a glimpse of the tattoos otherwise obscured by the jaunty curl on the Tibetan forehead. 

He looked incredibly sad.

Then the sun broke through over his features and it became summer, and almost happy. 

"I would like to have the opportunity to be that one."

Spontaneously sir Frederic offered the young man his hand. 

"Then all we can do is wish you all the best, lad. You should go now, before Ikki has destroyed the Clock. Prepare her. Soften the blow so to speak."

"No, wait, one last thing." said mr. Field, " A service. Can you teleport my family away? All of them?"

Mu was puzzled. „First you did not want it when Ilya asked, now you ask yourself. What changed your mind?"

"We've got the girls, which was my primary objective."

"But your son is still missing, the one with the odd name.."

Mr. Field laughed. "Quirinalis is the only one I am totally unworried about, wherever he is. He is a cat with nine lives and has a habit of rolling through every difficulty. Esk has a point of being at risk anywhere, but I want to eliminate the possibility of another hostage taking. Athena is not likely to go out of her way to take revenge on us. She has enough on her plate already."

"Your other son is of a different mind, I think."

"Esk has a misplaced idealistic streak to, of the 'we must stick together' kind. He'll find out to his cost that there is a time and a place for that, and this isn't it. Ah well, 'A father cannot prevent his son from riding a wild horse, nor can the son prevent the horse from throwing him off.' This father though will try is damnedest."

"That is a Khampa proverb!" exclaimed Mu in delighted surprise.

Mr. Field grinned: " Learned it from a Khampa too. "

"You speak my language so well. How come…I'm sorry, perhaps I am indiscreet."

"Not at all."

Mr. Field pulled out his pipe, filled and lit it with practised ease.

"I could lie about it of course, or bend the truth as I did for my own family. But you are Tibetan, and deserve the full truth and nothing but the truth. I used to be an agent for the British Intelligence Service. A spy, if you prefer. In the Second World War I was trained for sabotage in the Far East. I didn't do much- blew up a couple of bridges in Japanese controlled territory- but my main task was recruiting local people to provide us with information. That was my task in Tibet, too, from 1947 onwards, for China threatened British interests in the region. Admittedly they were dwindling with India vying for independence, quite rightly too, it was either that or forget about democracy altogether, not allowing an entire sub-continent of people a voice in their own government. Tibet too clung to its independence, and allowed no-one but the British and the Chinese permanent representation. With the change of regime in Beijing, the Chinese were told to leave, and the Brits soon followed. By that time my interest in Tibet had become personal, and I was allowed to stay. When China annexed the Qinghai province in 1949 I knew it was time to return to Europe, which I did just in time. That is all I can say at the moment. Does it answer you?"

Mu bit his lip. 

"I am Tibetan. As a Saint I have powers that could help free Tibet... A few months ago I was in Lhasa…I stood and watched what the oppressor did to my people when they protested against Chinese domination…I did nothing." ********

He halted, and his distress at his inaction was obvious, " Worse than what I failed to do is what I did do. My …my mother taught me that to be a Buddhist is to respect all life. I have killed. I am not…no longer 'Nangpa'."

"'Within the Faith'." translated mr. Field. "Listen, son; this is very important. The Khampa warriors that were 'noble outlaws' before and 'freedom-fighters' now are Buddhists too and kill.********* It is a matter of their own conscience. Yet _you_ did not leave the Faith. You were taken out. It was not your fault. You were caught in the pattern. Ultimately it is not even Athena's fault."

"Yes. And yet it was _all_ our fault, all of us, and those who went before, that we did not break the pattern."

__

"Yet another naive idealistic young man." thought Sir Frederic, and immediately berated himself, _"Why am I such an old cynic? Forty years in British Intelligence does that to you I suppose. Hubert was right to pull out. And yet he was the man who wanted to be in Intelligence."_

Sir Frederic cast his memory back to February the 16th 1942. Eton College in wartime winter. Two seventeen year olds, sitting in their shared study, smoking illicit and smuggled in woodbines. One was a tall, gangling redhead with his tie undone in defiance of the school dress code. He was also struggling not to cry.

"They will be publishing he lists of the…the POW's soon." said the other, equally tall, blond, pale, long-faced and slightly pimply.

"Dad was a civilian volunteer. Think the Japs will treat him as a POW? Thank God Mutti has kept her German nationality. They might treat her better. Damn it, Fred, I feel so powerless. I wish I was there."

"Don't be stupid. You'd be either dead or a prisoner too. "

"You don't understand. All I have left of family here are my father's elder brother and his wife on the family-farm in Sussex. My cousin Ben is somewhere in North Africa. Hell, I'll be eighteen in a couple of months and I'll be called up to fight my German cousins. Paul must already be in the Wehrmacht, the others will soon follow. Damn this war! Damn Hitler and the Mikado and their cliques! Why should chaps like us have to fight to satisfy their greed? I know my cousins are no Nazis, and I guess there are a lot of Japs who would rather stay on their island too. And now they have taken Singapore. My father and mother may be dead. How do you think does that are me feel?"

"Pretty rotten, I'd imagine."

"I want to give it back to them!"

"I see. You won't fight Jerry because you are half one, but you don't mind killing Japs, since they hurt you personally, and that makes it easy to hate them." 

__

"No…yes…alright, it is unfair of me, but, damn it, it _is _personal! One should be a conscientious objector, but then again, one has to do one's bit. Look, this war has to end and it mustn't be won by the Axis, right? I have to do something. Something that will make a difference."

"No less! We all do. That's why we're in Eton. Jumping board for Sandhurst and a career in the military, the best defence of our democratic values we have so far, since the politicians bungled it. Of course, our careers will start in the field, now that we are at war."

"I didn't chose to be here. Anyway, I could be put to better use than at the front. I mean, I speak German like a native, I am fluent in Malayan and can make myself understood in Japanese. That has to count for something, no?"

"Ask your Godfather. After all, he is an old Eton Boy, he got you placed here after your school was closed down because of the war…"

"And he thought he was doing me a favour. The Major was the only other Catholic in Kuala Lumpur, which is why my parents asked him to be my Godfather. Being in loco parentis Uncle Albert didn't object to the major's offer of help: he believed I'd get a proper education at Eton. Sorry Fred, I know you like the place, you are a good friend and I shouldn't speak ill of it, but Public School doesn't agree with me." 

"It shows. If you hadn't knocked the class-bully senseless within a week of your arrival, your life here would have been made a thorough misery. Mind you, you did fight dirty."

"I fight to win. Anyhow, I doubt if the major can do anything…hell, is that the bell for Evensong already? "

"The Headmaster has ordered a special service to honour the defenders of Singapore. You can say a prayer for your parents."

"When did God ever listen?" had said young, embittered Hubert Field, and threw his fag-end into the fireplace in disgust. 

Frederic Mountjoy, Headboy of Eton College and an even better friend than Hubert supposed, had written about the conversation to his own father, Colonel Mountjoy, who had in turn spoken two the Major. Both Staff Officers with connections in the Intelligence Service, they had agreed that Hubert Field's talents made him an ideal candidate for SIS, and so the word had been passed down, back via Frederic Mountjoy, that he had best present himself at such and such address. That was how the Service worked, and the best agents were often those who never knew the worked for Intelligence. By contrast, young Frederic Mountjoy had been a soldier and an officer in the regular army in the Far East, fighting his way to Japan, where the two friends met again in 1945. And there Hubert Field had returned the compliment by recruiting him as agent for (and later head of) the Far East department. Sons of the Lost Generation of '14-'18 that had fought in the Great War believing it to be the 'War to end all Wars', they had found themselves at fifteen facing yet another war that forced them to go from childhood innocence to grown-up responsibility. Another Lost Generation. Yet at the end of it they had had but one Ideal left, one firm conviction: _never again_. Each after his own fashion had devoted his life to a peaceful Europe of common goals if not a United Europe. In Frederic Mountjoy's case, that had translated itself into eternal vigilance by hook or by crook. 

The parallels between the Service and Sanctuary struck the Intelligence Officer. 

__

"Shadow-soldiers, working behind the scenes, that is what we are. But there the similarity ends. With us, no glamour, no fancy dress, no heroic sacrifices, just nitty gritty research and information gathering and putting two and two together to make five. Our methods are not always 'clean', not 'honourable', but one has to be ever watchful, for today's friend and ally may be tomorrow's rival and enemy, and the more you know the better prepared you'll be. Ultimately, our job is simply to brief the politicians, and the rest is up to them. This however is a situation no one could have prepared for. The lad calls it a Game. Is he aware of the Great Game?********* Children play at Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, bang! Bang! You're dead! That is what these children are playing, and they have no idea what goes on in the real world. They butcher on command and call it justice, they think peace is served where Athena rules by turning children into killers. And yet they remain so innocent…were we not ourselves like that once?"

Sir Frederic understood Athena all too well.

"How could it be otherwise?" said Mu suddenly vehement, and his green eyes flashed, " We were kept stupid. Ignorant. Even I who knew more than most did not think beyond my duty to Athena. I could have done better. I _should_ have known better."

__

"He sounds like Hubert at that age: very intense. The lad is smart and he knows it. He's got spirit too. Indeed he should not have been in the blindly following orders brigade. God, what is it all for if not that young people such as he get a chance of making something of their lives?"

"Is that not what you are doing now?"

"Yes, but too little too late. While Seiya and his brothers were battling Poseidon we Gold Saints were kept in reserve. On Dokho's command I threatened Aiolia to keep him from interfering! I would have killed him if he had disobeyed, just as I tried to kill Seiya for disobeying Athena's command to lead a normal life. Where is the logic? It is just so…so _stupid!"_

"Son, both Sir Frederic and I have been there. There always comes a moment when a soldier receives a totally dumb order and it opens his eyes. He starts to think. He ceases to be a mere soldier. And yet he has to soldier on. The worst is when innocent people pay the price for your decisions." said mr. Field, " One can live with having killed in battle, when it has been either them or you. At least that is what they tell me, I would not know, never having killed face to face. But I am responsible for people's deaths, indirectly. A friend spend 5 years in a Chinese jail, when it was I, the real spy in Tibet, they were after. A stone on my conscience ."

__

"That old affair again! Robert never blamed you: such risks are part of the job and he knew it as well as you did. Robert took over from you because you wanted out, and everyone understood that with the Chinese threat looming and you having a family to worry about…in fact to the Service you were a liability since the Tibetan situation had become a personal affair for you…but that's how it is, with men of conscience and responsibility: somewhere, you never stop blaming yourself."***********

"When you grow older you realise that such is inevitable, and you trail behind you a thousand and one bigger and smaller stones, and little and large regrets. As Gyalpo Rimpoche told me once: 'Regret is part of being alive, but one must not let it rule one's life or one will end up not living at all.'"

"Jinchi Norbu!" ************cried Mu, "Did you meet Him? Did you speak with Him? Do you _know_ Him?" 

There was envy in the young Tibetan's voice, mingled with a desperate need, and yes, some clear apparent self-disgust.

Mr. Field considered carefully before answering. He did not want to give the Aries Saint the wrong impression, yet he did want to help him come to terms with his past, as he had once had to do. He pulled long and hard on his pipe, and slowly exhaled. "It is a sad thing that in Tibet the faithful are deprived of the merest glimpse of Him, whereas I, and unbeliever, have, on more than one occasion, as I visit Dharamsala at least once a year to see my family there. Back in 1948 I even managed to visit the monastery of Kumbum and speak with the boy that was later to become the Panchen Lama. A rare privilege for a westerner, even more so now that the poor man is completely in the hands of the Chinese Government. I cannot claim friendship with the Dalai Lama, as others can, though I support His cause full-heartedly. On thing I am certain of: He will not blame you for not helping Tibet. In fact, if 'helping' would be violent action, as Saints do, then He would much prefer you not to. Though He would not condemn you if you did, anymore than He does the Khampa rebels. He knows full-well that a world without violence, a perfect world of peace and harmony, is an impossible utopian dream. Athena has that dream, and it is not wrong to dream, but it is wrong to sacrifice everything to it."

"As we Saints do." whispered Mu, and he hung his head. "A Athena does. The rot has set at the core. What _will _His Holiness think of us...of me?"

"Tendre-me. Nang-la drama chuna, chi-hi tonta drohi mane. Khaliphe, khali-pe'a!" said mr. Field.

Again different emotions were visible in Mu's eyes, as the words sank in; and his sadness turned to joy when he understood the true meaning behind them. The rainbow aura lit his smile. 

"Thu-chi-che, bogpo!"***********

Sir Frederic hesitated to interrupt. He was not totally insensitive, and fully understood how his friend had warmed to the Aries Saint. He had himself. But contrary to Hubert Field he had never left the Service, had not become a father, and had never been able to afford sentimentality on the job. 

"It is time we came to a decision. Will Mu teleport the others out or not?"

Mr. Field looked at his children. While Nick was drinking the last of the retsina, Skippy basking in motherhood, Aphrodite telling Vimi how he had taught himself English with Assimil ("Classic Greek and Swedish are fine, but it's hell to communicate when you want to go out and about in the world.")Esk was lecturing Aiolia and Shun on the impossibility of the Athena Exclamation.

"Of course it is just a convention of words. The Big Bang Theory is fairly recent. During her last incarnation you would have called it differently, for you would have compared it to some other gigantic explosion. The real thing would have ripped the Universe apart."

"Nevertheless that is what we have done and the Universe is still intact." said the Leo Saint, slightly miffed at being disbelieved.

"If that is true then it would be extraordinary. The possibilities are myriad! If I could work out the maths…and we need to do tests in a controlled environment…"

Both mr. Field and Sir Frederic frowned at the young scientist's words.

__

"Hmmm, it won't be just the military dying to get their hands on these children. The scientists will be at it too. Esk sounds like he is about ready to stick them into a test-tube like a lab-rat. Damned, I may receive orders in that direction any time soon. Hubert wants to see those kids safe, but if his own son develops such scientific enthusiasm for the Saints capabilities he will run into problems."

"Hubert, when someone falls off a horse, he usually learns a wise lesson."

Mr. Field blinked uncomprehendingly, and then remembered his own earlier words.

"Unless he breaks his neck." he growled in answer, unsure of what his friend was driving at.

"They are young adults, not children. They have made their decision. Esk will not thank you for deciding over his head. If it were Vimi and Nick alone, it would be different, but your eldest has inherited your stubborn streak, and once his mind is set on something…Don't forget what he is, and where his professional interest lies. Research is his passion. Obviously he'd love to study the Saints. Do you want him to see them as people or as guinea-pigs? "

Mr. Field bit angrily on his pipe. "Damn it, Frederic, Esquilinus is my son, not some mad professor Frankenstein."

"Are you sure he can make abstraction of his job and his ethics?"

"Can you?"

"Oh, you know better than that" said Sir Frederic softly. 

The other Englishman passed a hand over his face. Suddenly mr. Field looked old and tired. " Yes, I do. Forgive me, Fred. I have made demands on our friendship 

I should not have. You've been sticking your neck out for me and undertaken some highly unofficial action…"

"Demand away; that is what friendship is for. Take my advice. Normally I don't approve of civilians in the front line, but this isn't a regular battle. If anything it's a campaign to win the hearts and minds of the opposition. You were a recruiter once, so you know how it works. As a controller, I constantly reminded myself that the people in the field who obtain info for me are beings of flesh and blood, not pawns in the Great Game. Athena needs the same reminder, and what better way than to confront her with the ordinary people she vows to protect? She also needs to realise that the world has changed and that the so-called Gods cannot have it their way anymore. Who better than Athena, whose prime concern has always been to care for humanity, to confront her fellows with Human Emancipation? And it works both ways. We also need to be reminded not to think in black and white, even though what the Saints do, or rather, how they do it, disgusts us. But we must not a priori ascribe evil intent to them. The more I listen and think about it, the more I realise how young, idealistic and well-meaning they are. "

Mu's rainbow Aura inundated the group, showing his happy approval of Sir Frederic's words.

"That is how I see it too! I admit I worried some about your intentions. But you are good people!"

"No Mu, we are not." said Sir Frederic, " We try though. Hubert, your decision?"

Mr. Field sighed. "I'd still be happier if it were possible to pull them out if it comes to blows again. Mu, any suggestions?"

The Aries Saint smiled reassuringly. " It is easier to teleport people when you are holding them or close, but I'm pretty good. I know them all now, and can do it from wherever I am over a reasonable distance. If I link in with Kiki, we can do it together."

"But the lad's aboard the Enterprise!" 

Mu closed his eyes and smiled once again, and said:" Not anymore."

"I thought one can not teleport up…"

"When the Clock is running one can, if you are very good, teleport to the last unguarded Temple in the row, in this case Taurus. From there Kiki has but to pass through Gemini, teleport to Leo, go through Virgo and once again teleport to Pisces. The Mountain is taboo, and when all Temples are manned it is a hard climb: that is why it took me six hours."

"Let's hope Saga and Virgo will accommodate." 

"I'll try to persuade them."

Later they would all agree that it was at that precise moment, when everything looked so bright, matters took a very ugly turn indeed.

END OF PART III

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To be continued in part IV

* A passing nod to Oscar Wilde

**Japanese Secret Service

*** 'Sheila', meaning Australian woman, falls in the same category of name-calling as Jerry (for German soldier WWII), Jap (Japanese soldier, WWII) and Tommy (for British soldier WWI&II) or Yank (for American). Not always nice, but not always ill-meant either, and in the best cases such as with Skippy and the Americans, they good-humouredly call themselves that.

**** an incarnate lama

***** Sir Frederic refers to the fact that Sweden is traditionally a neutral state, like Switzerland. Remember that this is 1988, and Sweden was not yet in the EU

****** Shura was born in the '60's, therefore in Spain under the Dictator Franco. By 1988 Spain was a democracy and part of the EEC. As for Aldebaran, I thought it would heighten the tragedy if his parents were so desperate in their grinding poverty that they entrusted their child to Sion in the hope he would get a better life, as Shura's mother did. 

******* a mountainpass between India (north-east Uttar Pradesh) and Tibet,6.300 meters and only practicable in summer

******** Authentic. In the autumn of 1987 a number of Tibetan monks took to the streets to demonstrate for religious freedom and independence, with dire results.

********* Kham is a Tibetan province. Khampa's are originally a nomadic people who had a reputation as thieves and highway robbers, a threat to every caravan that passed through their territory. Being a proud and independent people however they were the first to rebel against Communist oppression and started the revolt of 1959 which eventually led to the Dalai Lama's flight to freedom and exile. 

********** read: 'Kim' by Rudyard Kipling

*********** After I had established Mr. Fields character as an SIS agent who married a Tibetan I did some research. Great was my astonishment to find out that such a man actually existed. Two in fact: R. Fitzgerald who married a Tibetan and Robert Ford who was accused of being a spy for SIS (MI6) and incarcerated by the Chinese Government. He wrote a book about his experiences.

A case of nature imitating art or simply a damn good guess on my part?

***********Gyalpo Rimpoche: another name for the Dalai Lama, Rimpoche being the title given to every incarnation

Jinchi Norbu: also the Dalai Lama, translates as: Precious Jewel. 

************Tendre-me: 'unfortunate' or 'most sad', 'regrettable'

Nang-la (…) = Tibetan proverb, meaning: If the inside is rotten there is not much you can do about the outside.

Khali-phe, khalipe'a = both are often translated as 'goodbye', however, they translate as: 'Be righteous and go slow.' Mr. Field means for Mu to take those last words literally: if you strive to be righteous and take your time, you can do something.

Thu-chi-che: thank you

Bogpo: friend

My knowledge of Tibetan is minimal, so I cannot vouch for the utter correctness of the above: this is where my research led me

I wanted this to be a quiet chapter yet with an underlying current of tension and threat, largely due to the slippery character of Aphrodite. I also wanted to illustrate the friendship between Sir Frederic and mr. Field, for what they lived through in their youth affects their present actions. I also had the chance to give Nick a better part than the 'hairy comic-relief character genre Hagrid or Gimli' and have him correct the too-clever and pedantic Esk. Now I have no idea if crabs are referred to as sea-spiders in Japan as they are where I come from, but I thought it would be fun to have Shun and Ikki make that mistake in 'Cancer', which also heightened the tension and prolonged the action (They think they've got Deathmask, he breaks free, they have to find another approach…) The two corrections fit in nicely together: the crab/spider (Esk corrects Shun) leading to the German/Austrian one which in turn leads to the comparison Chinese/Tibetan and the important conversation between Mr. Field and Mu (and his inner turmoil) And no, Mu is not mr.Field's grandson, it is far more complicated than that.

On the subject of the passage of time: 

Ilya, Mu, Mr. Field and Nick arrive at the Pisces Temple at the end of the Sagittarius hour. The battle of Rodorio lasted throughout Gemini and Cancer, and Capricorn arrives at the end of it. Scorpio sends Vimi and Skippy to Leo at the start of Cancer. Throughout Leo Rodorio is evacuated and Capricorn dies in the Virgo hour. As Ikki confronts Shiryu Mu and Milo meet during Libra hour, and early in Scorpio Ilya comes to. Milo is vanquished a little later. As Sagittarius strikes, Nick and Sir Frederic wake up.

I had planned two more chapters, but I will reserve them for part IV as my other fics deserve some attention now. 


End file.
